A federal judge has dismissed former Dallas-based Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre’s lawsuit against members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee after ruling that lawmakers have immunity for the legislative actions he challenged under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause.
Dr. de la Torre sued the HELP Committee and its members on Sept. 30, 2024, in federal court after they voted to hold him in contempt for skipping a HELP committee hearing that he was subpoenaed to attend earlier that month.
Dr. de la Torre alleged that the committee unconstitutionally punished him for invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to testify and led an “unvarnished and unlawful crusade to deter, punish and publicly humiliate” him.
However, District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Trevor McFadden granted the committee’s move to dismiss the lawsuit for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Mr. McFadden also denied Dr. de la Torre’s requests for jurisdictional recovery.
“[B]ecause [Dr. de la Torre] has not shown that any requested discovery could produce information that would affect the Speech-or-Debate analysis, there is no basis to allow it,” Mr. McFadden said in a Sept. 16 combined opinion document. “Documents illuminating the Committee’s knowledge about his Fifth Amendment invocation are irrelevant to the immunity question. The Court thus will deny Dr. de la Torre’s motion for jurisdictional discovery.”
Steward sought Chapter 11 protection May 6, 2024, and has since sold or closed many of its hospitals. Dr. de la Torre “amicably separated” from the for-profit health system on Oct. 1, 2024, after drawing criticism for his extravagant lifestyle, including owning two yachts and taking luxury vacations while Steward’s hospitals struggled financially.
Becker’s has reached out to Dr. de la Torre and HELP committee members Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy for comment and will update this story should more information become available.
