Lakewood-based dental group alleges professors made slanderous statements, one compared founder to Hitler
(Denver, Colo., December 27, 2013) - Moye White LLP announced that its client, Lakewood-based Comfort Dental Group, Inc., the nation’s largest dental franchise, intends to file lawsuits against four professors at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. The team of Moye White attorneys (Eric Liebman, Billy Jones, Josh Kweller, and Nick Reckman), has served notices to these professors, via the Colorado Attorney General and University of Colorado Board of Regents. As required by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, the notices describe the offending conduct and state Comfort Dental’s plans to file suit in Jefferson County District Court. The defendants, Associate Professor Dr. Thomas Borris, Assistant Professors Dr. Sally Preston and Dr. James Woolum, and part-time Professor Dr. Melvin Eugene Ball are being sued in their individual capacities; the CU School of Dental Medicine is not named as a defendant in any of the lawsuits.
In four separate notices, the defendants are alleged to have made numerous slanderous statements about the quality of Comfort Dental’s professional services, the motivations of its dentists, and the structure of its business model. One of the defendants, Dr. Ball, is alleged further to have personally attacked Comfort Dental’s founder and CEO, Dr. Rick Kushner, stating in a conversation with another dentist that Dr. Kushner “is like Hitler.” All the alleged comments were made on campus and overheard by students and colleagues of the defendants.
Comfort Dental remains committed to quality dental care that is both affordable and convenient,” said company General Counsel and spokesperson, Graig Bears. “We will respond vigorously to unfounded and slanderous allegations such as these that impugn the professional reputation of our over 100 offices in 11 states.”
Bears added that Comfort Dental is also committed to giving back to the communities that it serves through numerous philanthropic efforts. Notably, the company provides free dental care to those in need every Christmas Eve day. Since Care Day’s beginnings in 1984, Comfort Dental has seen thousands of patients around Christmas each year and has given away over $15 million in dental services.
Dr. Kushner founded Comfort Dental (www.comfortdental.com) in Colorado in 1977. The company currently has over 70 independently-owned offices throughout the state. Requests for comment should be directed to Graig Bears, Comfort Dental’s General Counsel and spokesperson, or Moye White Executive Director and spokesperson Dean A. Nakayama.
About Moye White LLP
Moye White is a full-service business law firm serving clients throughout the United States and internationally, with offices in Colorado and Georgia. The firm provides legal representation to clients in a wide variety of industries offering strategic, business-oriented counsel to public, private, and governmental clients in complex business and real estate transactions and commercial litigation matters.