A lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Lexington Regional Health Center and it’s then CEO Leslie Marsh has been dismissed with prejudice meaning, it can not be reopened. Donald Nichelson, former employee of LRHC, had alleged defamation and retaliation in violation of the Family Medical Leave Act. Both plaintiff and defendant attorneys jointly filed motions seeking dismissal of all claims and that each party bear their own attorney’s fees and costs. Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph Batallion filed the last order of dismissal on May 10, 2024.
Nichelson was employed by LRHC as Network Administrator from June 6, 2014 until his employment was terminated on April 7, 2021. His petition stated that in the Fall of 2020, the CEO’s iCloud account was compromised. A couple of months later, Nichelson was granted medical leave, then the entire IT department was suspended. Nichelson’s employment was later terminated, while still on medical leave.
Nichelson alleged he did not engage in unauthorized activity with the CEO’s account, nor take any actions to harm LRHC. He stated that an outside investigation found no evidence linking him to the CEO’s account.
The suit was originally filed in state court in Indiana on February 2, 2023, where Nichelson lived at the time of the filing. It was then moved to Indiana federal court and on January 4, 2024 transferred to Nebraska federal court in North Platte.
