Surgeon Files for Bankruptcy Amid Legal Battle With ASC

A Florida-based eye surgeon filed for bankruptcy this week in the latest chapter of an ongoing legal dispute with his former employer, St. Luke's Cataract and Laser Institute.

James C. Sanderson, MD, specialized in cosmetic surgery at the privately owned ASC between 1995 and 2003, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reports. In February 2006, three years after Dr. Sanderson left to start his own practice, St. Luke's filed a federal lawsuit against the surgeon, accusing him and the ASC's former Webmaster of stealing a Web site and two domain names, among other charges. Dr. Sanderson says he designed, authored and owned the rights to the Web site, laserspecialist.com, but St. Luke's argues that it belonged to the clinic because the surgeon's work on the site was conducted during his employment there.

The federal court has entered a total of five judgments in favor of St. Luke's and one in favor of Sanderson, the Business Journal reports, with both sides filing appeals that are still pending. Dr. Sanderson owes St. Luke's $682,755 as a result of those judgments, and he's now seeking bankruptcy court protection. According to court records, his attorney has filed for an emergency injunction to stop the ASC from enforcing its judgment against Dr. Sanderson until the court confirms his Chapter 11 plan.

—Irene Tsikitas