Suit against Pharmaceutical Alternatives dismissed

A civil suit against Pharmaceutical Alternatives Inc. was dismissed in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court this week

The motion to dismiss was filed by Jennifer Monty, an attorney with the Cleveland-based firm of Weltman, Weinberg and Reis Co., representing MedSearch Staffing Services, also of Cleveland.

MedSearch filed the suit June 30, 2008, seeking payment for $8,415, claiming Pharmaceutical Alternatives, doing business as Miller Pharmacy, wrote a check for that amount knowing it would not be honored by the bank, according to court documents.

The case was scheduled for a jury trial Friday morning.

"They had been paid for more than a a year," said Bob Skelton, attorney for Miller Pharmacy.

MedSearch was suing for the amount the check was to have covered, plus 8 percent annual interest, plus attorney fees and court costs, which amounted to $16,830, for a total judgment of $25,245.

In the court documents, Pharmaceutical Alternatives denied doing business as Miller Pharmacy. Though they share the same address for a principal office location -- 234 Main St. -- Miller Pharmacy of Coshocton has been incorporated since 1956 and Barbara Miller is listed as having sole proprietorship of the independent retail pharmacy, according to business filings available through the Ohio Secretary of State's Web site.

Pharmaceutical Alternatives, Inc., was incorporated in 1987, according to its articles of incorporation. B. Elise Miller is listed as the sole incorporator.

Pharmaceutical Alternatives was doing business as Three Rivers Infusion & Pharmacy Specialists until a bankruptcy court ordered the business shut down earlier this year.

The company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last year, but a trustee stepped in after Elise Miller failed to follow directives of the court.

"The debtor is enjoying the benefits of bankruptcy protection without complying with the requirements of the Bankruptcy Code or the U.S. Trustee Guidelines," bankruptcy court documents state.

A suit also was brought against B. Elise Miller this week by the U.S. Department of Labor. The federal agency is seeking recovery of Individual Retirement Account funds for Three Rivers Infusion employees through the U.S. District Court Southern District Court of Ohio.

The lawsuit states Miller withheld the contributions or failed to remit them in a timely fashion from Aug. 5, 2005, to Jan. 16, 2009, and it seeks to recover all the assets owed to the retirement plan.