State
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
A7
State tab in Oracle case tops $10 million
By Nick Budnick
Capital Bureau
Oregon’s legal tab to outside law
irms has passed $10 million in the
battle with Oracle over who is to
blame for the $300 million Cover Ore-
gon website debacle.
The already staggering tab eventu-
ally could run far more than that, since
there are still six months before the tri-
al in Marion County Circuit Court is
scheduled to begin, and there could be
appeals after that.
But while Oregon and Oracle
publicly accuse each other of incom-
petence and misrepresentations, they
quietly have resumed settlement talks
in search of a peaceful resolution.
Oregon is using a special settlement
lawyer, who has billed the state nearly
$250,000 in the past two years.
“We continue to talk regularly in
good faith about all kinds of settlement
ideas with the state,” wrote Oracle Se-
nior Vice President Ken Glueck in an
email.
The state’s suit for more than $6
billion, as well as the project’s total
failure, have drawn national attention.
The website was never publicly un-
veiled, creating headaches for tens of
thousands of Oregonians who sought
to enroll in new health insurance of-
“
This is a very political environment. There
may be a value to having a settlement
before the election season heats up.”
David Friedman
Willamette University law professor
ferings under the Affordable Care Act,
also known as Obamacare. Orego-
nians faced delays, errors or had their
applications lost entirely as the state
tried to manually process their appli-
cations.
Oracle was paid $240 million for
products and programming the state
says were low-quality and unworkable.
Here are three things to know as the
two sides talk.
1. The primary case is entering a
crucial stage
On June 17, Oracle’s lawyers went
to Marion County Circuit Court in an
effort to essentially knock the heart out
of Oregon’s case accusing Oracle of
racketeering and fraud. The company’s
lawyers argued two motions that ques-
tion whether the state has a valid legal
foundation for its suit.
Next month, the state will go to the
same court for permission to amend
the suit to claim punitive damages—
meaning far more money — for what it
says was egregious misconduct by the
company.
At this point, neither side has a good
understanding of the risks and probabil-
ities as they head into trial scheduled for
January 2017.
Until Marion County Circuit Judge
Courtland Geyer settles those issues
and some inal questions around the ev-
idence to be presented in court, it’s pos-
sible neither side will be ready to settle.
That, at least, is the usual pattern,
says David Friedman, a Willamette
University law professor who is track-
ing the case.
But, he adds, “There may be a break
point right now where the state realizes
it’s going to get a lot more expensive.”
2. Attorney General Ellen Rosen-
blum and Gov. Kate Brown may not
be on the same page when it comes to
settling
Oracle has iled a separate lawsuit
that amounts to the legal equivalent of
a tricky bank shot.
It claims aides to Brown reached
an oral agreement to settle the state’s
O utlook
racketeering case for $25 million, only
to have the deal not go through. The
lawsuit attempts to enforce the alleged
deal, which would make the entire legal
fracas go away.
Rosenblum maintains that only she
has the authority to fully settle the case,
since she iled it and is an independent-
ly elected oficial. Brown has denied
settling the case.
Oracle’s suit is pending, but the alle-
gations it presents suggest that Brown,
who is now running to ill the inal two
years of former Gov. John Kitzhaber’s
term, was far more eager to settle the
case than Rosenblum is. And that dy-
namic has likely not changed much,
observers say.
“This is a very political environ-
ment,” Friedman says. “There may be a
value to having a settlement before the
election season heats up.”
The alleged $25 million settlement,
while large on its face, would amount
to pennies on the dollar of what Rosen-
blum has alleged. And nobody knows
what advice she’s received from Da-
vid Markowitz, the political supporter
whose irm, Markowitz Herbold, she
hired to litigate the case.
3. The state’s case rests on some
tricky laws
June 17th’s court hearing concerned
two laws that make up the heart of the
state’s lawsuit. One of them is largely
untested, while the other can be tricky
to employ correctly.
Oregon has sued under the Ore-
gon False Claims Act, a statute that
has rarely been used. It originally was
intended to be focused on Medicaid
fraud — which is not alleged in the
Oracle case. The law has never faced
this kind of high-stakes test, legal ex-
perts say.
The other statute used by Oregon is
the state’s version of a federal law orig-
inally intended for mobsters: the Rack-
eteer Inluenced and Corrupt Organi-
zations Act. The law essentially allows
companies and the state to allege crimi-
nal behavior and a pattern of wrongdo-
ing in civil court. It has been used by
the state to get around issues when the
statute of limitations has passed on al-
leged crimes or misconduct.
Using the state RICO statute al-
lowed Oregon to reach back in time to
bring in Oracle’s promises made during
the bidding process on Cover Oregon,
which otherwise would have been
off-limits. A former Oracle employ-
ee, David Jurk, submitted testimony
to the state that many of Oracle’s
promises were not only false, but
they could never have been kept due
to limitations of the company’s soft-
ware.
SENI R
PRAIRIE CITY–
The first thing
that happened on
Wednesday in the Hall/
Center was that the Grant
County Senior Advisory
Council held a meeting.
Rose Coombs
They did good, too. I
inquired about the
beautiful flowers on the tables. Helen had brought them but does not
know what they are. She got a start of them 54 years ago from Donna
Kimberling. Mysteries abound around here…
The next thing was the appearance of a couple of raffle cans. I tell
you, these younger people are really getting into fund-raising. The first
one is a daily 50/50 drawing. I had to ask what that meant. Very simple.
You purchase a ticket for $1 then you keep one half and Pam puts the
other in the can. Before the meal, a ticket is drawn. The holder of the
other half of the ticket gets one-half of the money in the can. Our very
first winner was Crystal James, who is part of Ivan’s entourage. She
went home with $21 and we deposited the other $21. Hey, I like this
raffle!
Moving on. Buzz led the flag salute and Jack asked the blessing.
The other door prize winner was Sandi Newell, who received the $5 in
trade donated by Prairie Hardware & Gifts.
We had 79 names on the book and we all enjoyed orange juice, a
summer fruit bowl, black & white rice (which turned purple), green
salad, chicken teriyaki, rolls and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream for
Prairie City
Seniors
dessert. Mmmm, good.
Lorna and Shauntele brought Dorothy Blasing, Lois Hill, Otho
Laurance and Marilyn Randall from Blue Mountain Care Center. Nancy
Viggers brought Norma Montgomery, whom she met in the cafeteria at
Blue Mountain Hospital. Another visitor was Tom Roark’s wife, Ruth.
Good to see you all.
If you would like to help with the operations of our Hall/Center, the
Site Committee has need of your participation. Sandi, the newly-wed
Newell, has decided to retire from her duties as Site Committee
Secretary. She told us their plans for the next month and I got tired just
from listening! More power to her… and him!
The wedding and reception in our neighborhood had lots of special
music. One of the instruments was a concert harp. After the recessional,
the player was “visited” by lots of interested parties. That’s one
instrument that you don’t see very often in Grant County. I have a small
Celtic harp that I’ve been working on for years and not getting as far as I
want to. My excuse is that my hands have been playing horizontally for
60 years and they don’t want to play vertically. But Miss Jepson didn’t
buy that. She said that she played piano, too, before she played the harp. I
guess I’ll blame it on old age…
I need to get started on my latch hook project for the eclipse. After
all, it’s only a year away!
Did you know that there are 293 ways to make change for a dollar?
And the average life span of a major league baseball is seven pitches.
Finally, a duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why. Your
trivia for the day.
Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine…”
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Seniors
Alma Joslin
JOHN DAY –
On June 20 we were
treated to a Chinese dinner
consisting of almond
chicken, fried rice, egg rolls
and gingered veggies. For
dessert we had fortune
cookies and mango sorbet.
There were approximately
36 diners present to enjoy
the meal, as I’m sure they did.
Ron Dowse and Margaret Glass greeted us. Rick and Becky
Rhinehart delivered 27 meals plus 22 frozen ones to shut-ins. Veanne
Weddle assisted in deliveries.
Our servers were from First Christian Church. Karen Barrietua,
Cathy Altnow and Jan Ellison pured juice and milk. Roberta Dowse led
the flag salute and Cathy asked the blessing. Veanne announced it was
the longest day of the year.
Ed Smith is selling raffle tickets for the “Greater Smiles” dental
assistance program. Veanne also reminded everyone of the ongoing
ticket sales at the front desk for the quilt, with proceeds going to the Curt
Periera fund. The tickets are $5 each.
We had some guests on Monday: Pat Amling’s friend from Hemet,
CA. was here visiting and joined her for lunch. Tom and Betty French,
from Boise, were here on an annual visit. Ed and LaTrona Smith were
visiting us from Prairie City. Hope all you folks enjoyed being here as
MONUMENT–
On June 21, our cooks,
Terry Cade and Carrie
Jewell, made us some
jambalaya with a little
kick, fresh green salad,
Soo Yukawa
bread and a fruit cobbler
for dessert. Thank you to
our faithful cooks. Our
greeters were Bodean Andersen and Marva Walker. Bodean made the
announcements and prayed the blessing over our meal. Clarence Harvey
won $10 from the 50/50 raffle.
The celebration of life for Seth Blakeslee was a packed
one. The service was held at the Monument School gym. Mitch Mund
gave a warm message for the service followed by a big potluck meal
shared by all at the park. The family will be donating all the monetary
gifts to renovating the basketball court at the park and its upkeep in
remembrance of Seth. Seth loved to spend time there playing basketball
with his friends. May Seth’s loved ones find peace and comfort during
this difficult time.
From June 27-June 31, Salem Heights in partnership with
Monument Bible Fellowship will be doing their famous VBS
program. It starts at 9 a.m. to noon. There will be a ladies night out on
Wednesday, June 29 at 6:30 p.m. Teen night will be Thursday. There
Monument
Seniors
much as we enjoyed having you.
Buzz Harris won the Len’s Drug gift certificate and Helen Bogart
won the free lunch.
On June 23, we had a super lunch of chicken kiev, twice baked
potatoes, boiled cabbage medley, French bread, peaches and pecan
sandies. There were approximately 50 diners plus 34 lunches delivered
by Jim Maple, Joan Vetter and Veanne.
The entree was furnished by Seventh Day Adventist Church and our
servers were from St. Elizabeth Catholic Church. Helping serve were Jim
Maple, Agnes and Walt Hall, and Joan Vetter. Jim asked the blessing and
Walt led the flag salute. Marianne Morris and David Pasko greeted us
while Billie Bullard sold raffle tickets.
Veanne announced it was National Pecan Sandy Day - hence our
dessert. A big thank you goes out to Chester’s Thriftway for the large
amount of cabbage they donated to us. Veanne also gave a hot weather
alert for the elderly - WATER IS NOT ENOUGH. You need to watch
your salt intake and also the loss of electrolytes.
Joining Pat Amling was her daughter, Lou Arthur, who is visiting
from Redmond.
Don Caldwell won the Chester’s Thriftway gift certificate and I won
the Valley View lunch for two.
Thursday, June 30, we will have barbecued hamburger steaks with
grilled onions and baked potatoes. On Monday, July 4, the center will be
closed. Have a great 4th!
John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes
in me will live even though they die.”
will also be a free family picnic for Friday night, June 31. All are
welcome. Hope you all can make it.
Don’t forget, Monument will be having its annual 4th of July
Jubilee. There will be a parade at 9 a.m., followed by food, crafts, baking
contests with prizes, and much more. Of course we all enjoy the fabulous
fireworks display in the evening put on by Boyer’s Cash Store.
I have really come to appreciate our Independence Day. This
country won its freedom by paying a high price for it. It’s not just about
having a nice BBQ and lighting off fireworks. It is a celebration of this
nation winning its fight to be a sovereign nation from a tyrannical
king. They won the right to practice and worship God their own way. The
pilgrims also had the wonderful opportunity to come and start a new life
here in America. I guess those are some of the reasons my family came
here. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if my parents had
not immigrated here. I came to this country as a little girl and now I am a
grown adult. I call myself an American. I may not look like your typical
American but I am one just the same. I have assimilated into this great
“melting pot” and will fight as our forefathers did to keep our freedoms
that they fought so very hard for, for myself, my children and for future
generations to come. Let freedom ring!
Isaiah 60:1-2 “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, And the glory of the
LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And gross darkness the people; But the LORD shall arise upon thee, And
his glory shall be seen upon thee.”
Zachary Bailey, MD • David Hall, MD • Nora Healey, FNP
Shawna Clark, DNP • Emily Lieuallen, DO • Dana Shuey, DNP
Available Monday - Friday
180 Ford Road, John Day • 541-575-0404
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Open Everyday at 5 a.m.
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541-575-1311
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Prairie City
541-820-3341
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Board Certified General Surgeon
Office Hours by Appointment • 541-575-1311
241 S. Canyon Blvd. John Day • 541-575-0529
T roy Hanson - Funeral Director
04069