County Hires Outside Firms in Health Care Suit : Medical: Defense teams will focus on claims the public hospital competes unfairly with private sector.

Ventura County has hired two of the state’s top law firms to defend the county hospital against charges that it is competing unfairly with the private sector.

County officials, fighting a lawsuit filed last month by Community Memorial Hospital, could not say Wednesday how much the top-flight legal advice would cost them.

“More than we want to think about,” said Noel Klebaum, the assistant county counsel assigned to the case for Ventura County Medical Center. “Right now it’s very difficult to estimate.”

But he said the investment could pay off if the attorneys specializing in health-care law help knock out the legal challenge in the early rounds.

Community Memorial officials said the decision to consult outside attorneys suggests the county is taking the lawsuit seriously.

“I think they should be worried,” said Donald Benton, who sits on the private hospital’s board of trustees. But Benton, a lawyer himself, said Community Memorial need not worry about the county’s hired guns.

“When it comes right down to it, any attorney can research the law,” he said.

The two hospitals, just a few blocks from each other in Ventura, have been locked in a bitter feud for 1 1/2 years. This spring, Community Memorial fought to block a new outpatient wing proposed at the county hospital.

The county submitted its plans for the $38-million project to state officials in June and has received the state’s commitment to fund 70% of the project. Construction plans are still under review, officials said.

Rather than focus on the new wing, Community Memorial’s lawsuit centers on the claim that the county has overstepped its legal role to treat the poor and has, instead, tried to lure patients away from other hospitals.

In particular, the public hospital is now offering a health plan for county employees. It also has established a network of clinics throughout the county.

Community Memorial is asking the Superior Court to block the county from accepting privately insured patients and force it to handle more patients who are unable to pay.

County hospital officials contend they have never sought insured patients and say that only one in 10 of their patients has insurance policies.

The county was expected to file its formal response this week but asked for an extension until Sept. 9 and brought in the outside legal experts to help prepare the court papers.

“We want to be certain we do a good job,” Klebaum said. “This is a very complex field. It’s not a field where there has been much done in terms of litigation.”

Instead, the legal team assembled will have to research state laws and find related court cases to prepare its defense. To do so, the county has retained health care and litigation specialists at Los Angeles-based O’Melveny & Myers and the San Francisco firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen.

O’Melveny & Myers is one of the state’s largest and most prominent firms with more than 500 lawyers on staff. Secretary of State Warren Christopher headed the firm for years before President Clinton picked him for his cabinet.

McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen has about 250 lawyers based in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose and Walnut Creek.

County Supervisor John K. Flynn defended the county’s decision to use independent counsel on the hospital suit. “I think it takes some experience to handle this type of case,” he said.

He acknowledged that the lawyers would cost the taxpayers, but put the blame on Community Memorial.

“I think that the Memorial hospital is just totally off base,” he said. “They’re suing the taxpayers. That’s what they’re doing.”

“That’s an interesting comment,” Community Memorial attorney John McDermott responded, “since part of what the lawsuit is about is saving the taxpayers money.

“What we’re trying to do is to prevent the county from treating the patients they shouldn’t be.”