Syncor Awarded $800,000 in Unfair Practices Case

Syncor International has been awarded more than $800,000 in damages by a Louisiana court that upheld a suit in which Syncor accused Summa Pharmacy of New Orleans and some of its employees of unfair trade practices.

Syncor, based in Chatsworth, is a supplier of specialty radiopharmaceuticals that are injected into patients or ingested by them so that equipment can scan their organs. In its suit, the company alleged that Summa was setting up a rival nuclear pharmacy business and was paying Syncor employees for information and advice while they were still employed at Syncor. According to a Syncor spokeswoman, Summa then hired away six of the employees, leaving Syncor with only a skeletal staff to run its New Orleans operation.

The 24th Judicial District Court judge who ruled on the case in Jefferson, La., said Summa’s actions were “intended to impair Syncor’s ability to service its customers. Their plan was not just to open a rival nuclear pharmacy business. Summa not only wanted to compete with Syncor, but to destroy Syncor’s operations.”

Summa can appeal the decision.