Man sues Pharmacy Associates for wrongful termination

HUNTINGTON - A man is suing Pharmacy Associates Inc. for allegedly wrongfully terminating his employment and causing him damages.

Pharmacy Associates is doing business has Option Care, which is doing business as Comprecare.

Tripro Property Holdings Inc.; J. Frank McClendon Jr.; and Thomas E. Menighan were also named as defendants in the suit.

On April 15, 1982, Harvey Barton, Menighan and McClendon founded PAI for the purpose of providing home healthcare for individuals through the rendering of services and selling of products to aid recovery from illness or infirmity, according to a complaint filed Sept. 24 in Cabell Circuit Court.

Barton claims each of them owned one-third of the shares of PAI's outstanding stock and he served as president, Chief Executive Officer and pharmacist of PAI from 1982 until 2012, when he was wrongfully terminated from his employment and frozen out of the business.

In October 2012, Barton was diagnosed with cancer and on Jan. 7, approximately three months after receiving the diagnosis, he unexpectedly received a letter from McClendon on PAI letterhead, informing him that he was being terminated from employment effective immediately, according to the suit.

Barton claims he fully complied with his employment contract and was wrongfully terminated from his employment.

The defendants' actions were illegal, unlawful, discriminatory and fraudulent so as to constitute a breach of their fiduciary duties, according to the suit.

Barton is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He is being represented by Marc E. Williams and S. Taylor Hood of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge F. Jane Hustead.

Cabell Circuit Court case number: 13-C-718