LISBON – Premier Therapy Services of Beaver, Pa., was awarded more than $700,000 by a jury in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court in a civil lawsuit against the former owner and others involved with the Holander House of Salem.

The jury trial held before Judge Scott Washam began on Nov. 17 and ended Tuesday, Nov. 25 with a unanimous decision in favor of the plaintiffs. The defendants in the case were David Childs, the assisted living facility’s former owner; Management Services Co. and Brewster Parke Inc.

The lawsuit claimed during a time period between April 2001 and February 2009 Holander House was provided therapy services by Premier Therapy. The private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid claims were filed by Holander House, which received payment for the services. However, in 2006 through 2009, the Holander House did not pay Premier Therapy.

In a lawsuit filed in Common Pleas Court in 2009, the court reportedly awarded Premier Therapy $592,929 plus interest from Holander House. However, the debt reportedly had not been paid at the time the latest lawsuit was filed in 2013.

After the 2009 lawsuit was filed, court documents alleged ownership or operational control was transferred among family members to Childs, who also owned Management Services Co. and Brewster Parke. Childs reportedly used the funds owed to Premier Therapy to repay himself for loans made to Holander House and sent money to his other two companies.

Childs then reportedly sought a buyer for Holander House. On May 8, 2009, the title was reportedly transferred from Holander House to Brewster Parke. Then in June 2009, Brewster Parke reportedly agreed to sell the Holander House to HSC Capital for $1.7 million and the 90 nursing home bed licenses to HSC Capital for $500,000.

Holander House, David Childs and Brewster Parke used $1.7 million to pay Huntington Bank back for a loan, according to the lawsuit, which also claimed the assets of the Holander House were fraudulently liquidated while the 2009 lawsuit was ongoing.

When the jury trial began, Huntington National Bank was included as a defendant in the case. The judge eventually ruled in the bank’s favor to dismiss it as a defendant.

The jury awarded Premier Therapy $693,777 in compensatory damages, along with an additional $10,000 in punitive damages. A hearing has been scheduled on Jan. 7 for Washam to consider payment of attorney fees.