The attorney for Pleasant Bay Ambulance Service vows to continue the fight against the exclusive contract awarded to Shoals Ambulance Service by the Franklin County Commission, the City of Red Bay and the City of Russellville, although a court ruling last week will make his job more difficult.
Franklin County Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey entered an order on June 30, 2015, dismissing Pleasant Bay's lawsuit against the three governmental entities, ruling that the entities were “allowed by law to award, by competitive bid, the exclusive right to provide ambulance service.”
Attorneys for Franklin County, Red Bay and Russellville filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Pleasant Bay has no legal recourse to sue from its status as an unsuccessful bidder. A competitive bid process resulted last year in Shoals Ambulance being awarded the first contract for a single ambulance provider in Franklin County. Russellville and Red Bay joined in the same contract, while Phil Campbell opted out after city leaders decided to continue using the Phil Campbell Rescue Squad for ambulance service.
Tuscumbia attorney Billy Underwood, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Pleasant Bay, said he plans to appeal Dempsey's ruling.
“We're going to have to appeal," Underwood said. "I don't think we've conceded the points stated in the order, and Pleasant Bay has a right to run its ambulances. You can't make it an exclusive thing, especially since [Pleasant Bay owner] Elzie Malone has a federal contract."
Underwood argued that Pleasant Bay is licensed through the United States government as a provider and therefore operates under federal and state authority. Pleasant Bay is also licensed by the Alabama Department of Public Health to provide ambulance service within every county in Alabama.
Attorneys for Franklin County cited Alabama Code Sec. 11-87-3, which expressly authorizes the governing bodies of any county or municipality to “enter into contracts for the provision of ambulance service within their boundaries and to appropriate and pay public funds for the services provided under the contracts.”
Underwood also sought the removal of local attorneys Roger Bedford and Danny McDowell from the case because Underwood planned to call them as witnesses at trial. Those arguments became moot with Dempsey's order of dismissal.
Pleasant Bay was one of four ambulance services to submit bids for the Franklin County contract last year.
“On behalf of the City of Red Bay and Franklin County, we are pleased with the judge's decision to dismiss the lawsuit and look forward to continuing with the existing ambulance contract,” said Bedford, who represented the two entities. “This lawsuit resulted from a disgruntled ambulance provider whose bid was not found to be the most competitive. Alabama law clearly establishes the right for a county or city government to contract with an exclusive ambulance provider through a competitive bid process."
Underwood views the entire contract and bid process with a more cynical eye.
“Pleasant Bay was good enough for the county to use earlier when Shoals Ambulance wouldn't do business with them," Underwood said. "But now they aren't? That's a strange dichotomy, isn't it?”
Underwood said he would advise Malone to continue to pick up and transport patients when Pleasant Bay receives a private call.
“When people call them up, they'll still be making calls," Underwood said. "Or if you're at a hospital and don't want Shoals Ambulance to do it, they can have Pleasant Bay pick them up. If you have a loved one at a nursing home, they can also call Elzie and he'll come pick them up."
Earlier this year, Russellville police cited a Pleasant Bay ambulance driver for operating an ambulance without a license. Underwood, who represented the driver, said that charge was dismissed by a specially assigned judge in Russellville Municipal Court. Bedford, who serves as Russellville municipal judge, recused himself from the case.
In spite of his client's legal setback, Underwood still hopes to one day present the case to a Franklin County jury.
“It's been a politically motivated process from the beginning. I think [it's] because Elzie is a Democrat and the Republicans on the county commission don't want to do business with him,” Underwood said. “That's surprising, because I thought all Republicans were for competition in the business world.
“It's communistic. The government appointed one firm to do all the service for the citizens of Franklin County, and they're failing. I though America was an open, free marketplace, according to Republicans."
