GRAND FORKS -- Grand Forks Clinic, after the first few opening moves of its lawsuit against Sanford Health, is set to end its fight against the health care giant.
Dr. Khaled Rabadi, the clinic’s owner, has been waging a lawsuit against the Sioux Falls-based health system for months, claiming the name of Sanford’s new Grand Forks clinic — “Sanford Health Grand Forks Clinic,” or even “Grand Forks Clinic,” Rabadi’s legal team has said — is far too close to his own business’s name.
The result, Rabadi has claimed, causes needless problems for patients confused by the similar titles and infringes on its trade name.
But in a Facebook post, Rabadi said it’s time for that lawsuit to end.
“After careful consideration and after the success that our Grand Forks Clinic has accomplished in the last few weeks after our Grand Opening, I have made the decision to dismiss our case against Sanford Health,” Rabadi wrote. “… We ARE the Grand Forks Clinic. We will continue to be the Grand Forks Clinic. No one will change that. We are moving onward, and upward. We continue to focus on the growth of our clinic and on the health of our patients.”
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Rabadi did not detail a reason for the end of the suit, and his office did not return a request for an interview.
The moment appears to end months of public debate about the name of Sanford’s new $12 million clinic , which opened this summer along 47th Avenue South — a significant investment in the city’s south end and planned in conjunction with a senior living campus from Edgewood Healthcare.
Grand Forks Clinic, by contrast, is a collection of more than 30 providers, according to its website, which lists locations along Washington Street and 44th Avenue South.
A Sanford spokesperson said in an email that there was no settlement.
“We are pleased the case regarding the Sanford Health Grand Forks Clinic’s name has been dismissed,” Justin Stromme, senior director of Sanford Health Network, said through a spokesperson. “We remain committed to providing the people of Grand Forks and its surrounding areas with the type of high-level health care they deserve. We sincerely appreciate the overwhelming, positive response we’ve received from Grand Forks residents since we opened the clinic in August.”
