Southcoast Hospitals Group sued a rival hospital chain Steward St. Anne’s and the state health agency in October 2015 in Suffolk County superior court, seeking to stop the competitor from opening a cardiac service and alleging that the move was made possible by the improper influence of a former health official. The case centers on a 2014 Mass. Dept. of Health Circular providing an exception for ACOs, allowing them to transfer licenses to provide cardiac care which were otherwise subject to a moratorium. Read the Boston Globe article and the complaint. The lawsuit was dismissed in March 2016.