By Krystal J. Carman
December 20, 2009 — Country music entertainer Garth Brooks is suing a Yukon hospital for breaking a contract which involved a $500,000 donation by Brooks.
The lawsuit was filed in Rogers County District Court on Sept. 21 using Brooks’ birth name, Troyal G. Brooks. He is suing Integris Rural Health doing business in Yukon, Brooks’ hometown, as Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital.
Brooks’ claims of relief include breach of agreement/contract, fraud and revocation of the gift. In other words, he wants his money back.
According to the filing, in late 2003 or early 2004, Integris made contact with Brooks’ father Ray Brooks soliciting a large donation to the hospital to honor Brooks’ late mother Colleen Brooks who died from cancer in 1999.
Contact with his father led to conversations with Brooks concerning a donation that lasted nearly two years, the claim says. Those conversations, according to the court filing, included mock-ups of a building at the hospital bearing Colleen Brooks’ name. In addition, Brooks states the hospital said the opening of the Colleen Brooks facility would be a public ceremony complete with a ribbon cutting.
Integris claims Brooks made the $500,000 donation and it was accepted before any discussion regarding honoring his mother’s name. Integris does however admit they presented mock-ups of a building bearing Colleen Brooks’ name during at least one meeting with Brooks.
Integris Canadian Valley Hospital began a $27 million expansion project that is expected to be completed in June 2010, according to the hospital’s Web site. The 18-bed emergency room and additional 4-bed ICU is slated to be finished this month. But a building bearing Colleen Brooks’ name has yet to be constructed.
Brooks is asking that a constructive trust be placed over the $500,000 in the hands of Integris to “preserve it until the outcome of this action is finally determined.”
No hearing dates have been set.
