Novant Health, the Winston-Salem-based nonprofit hospital system, has been the defendant in a string of significant lawsuits over the past decade, and the Novant Health lawsuit docket includes a federal antitrust fight over a hospital acquisition, a reverse-discrimination verdict that reached the Fourth Circuit, a class action over website tracking pixels, a $32 million retirement plan settlement, and several pending malpractice and civil rights cases. Here is where each of the major matters stands.
FTC Challenge to the Community Health Systems Acquisition
The Federal Trade Commission sued in January 2024 to block Novant’s proposed $320 million purchase of Lake Norman Regional Medical Center and Davis Regional Medical Center from Community Health Systems. Regulators alleged the deal would give Novant close to 65 percent of the inpatient general acute care market in the eastern Lake Norman area of North Carolina, raising prices and dulling incentives to invest in quality. The acquisition also swept in a physician group, a majority interest in a Mooresville endoscopy center, and a certificate of need for an ambulatory surgery center.1FTC. FTC Sues to Block Novant Health’s Acquisition of Two Hospitals From Community Health Systems
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell ruled for Novant on June 5, 2024, concluding in a 55-page order that the FTC was unlikely to succeed on the merits and that the target hospitals’ financial decline rebutted the agency’s case.2Carolina Journal. Feds Seek Official End to Case Pitting FTC Against Novant Health The FTC appealed. On June 18, a divided Fourth Circuit panel granted an emergency injunction blocking the deal, with Judges DeAndrea Gist Benjamin and Stephanie Thacker in the majority and Judge Harvie Wilkinson dissenting on the ground that the injunction could push the struggling hospitals to close.3FTC. Statement Regarding Termination of Novant Health’s Acquisition of Hospitals From Community Health Systems
Novant abandoned the deal, citing the FTC’s “continued roadblocks.”4Healthcare Dive. Novant Health Calls Off CHS Hospital Acquisition The FTC’s administrative complaint was dismissed on July 2, 2024, closing the matter.5FTC. In the Matter of Novant Health, Inc. and Community Health Systems, Inc.
The Duvall Reverse-Discrimination Verdict
David Duvall, a former senior vice president of marketing and communications, sued Novant in November 2019 after his July 30, 2018 termination, alleging he was fired because he is a white man and that the company was swapping white male leaders for women and minorities to hit diversity targets.6WBTV. Federal Jury Awards $10M to Former Novant Health Employee in Discrimination Case
In October 2021, a federal jury in Charlotte found that race and sex were motivating factors in the firing under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and awarded $10 million in punitive damages. The trial judge reduced the punitive award to $300,000 under Title VII’s statutory cap and added more than $3.4 million in back pay, front pay, and prejudgment interest, along with $400,000 in attorney’s fees.7Reuters. 4th Circuit Backs $3.4 Mln Award in White Ex-Hospital Exec’s Bias Case
On March 12, 2024, a unanimous Fourth Circuit panel upheld the discrimination finding and the $3.4 million lost-pay award but eliminated the punitive damages. Judge G. Steven Agee wrote that Duvall had not shown the “malice or reckless disregard for the law” that Title VII punitive damages require, and that affirming them would “water down the high standard imposed on a Title VII plaintiff.”7Reuters. 4th Circuit Backs $3.4 Mln Award in White Ex-Hospital Exec’s Bias Case
Meta Pixel Patient Privacy Class Action
The consolidated case In re: Novant Health, Inc. (No. 1:22-cv-00697), filed in the Middle District of North Carolina, alleged that Novant used the Meta Pixel and similar tracking tools on its websites and MyChart patient portal in ways that shared personal and health-related information with third-party tech companies. Plaintiffs brought invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and HIPAA claims on behalf of roughly 1.36 million portal users between May 2020 and August 2022. The incident was reportedly the first pixel-related HIPAA violation reported to the federal Office for Civil Rights.8HIPAA Journal. Novant Health Pixel Privacy Breach Settlement
Novant reached a preliminary settlement in January 2024, agreeing to pay $6.66 million into a non-reversionary fund. Anything left after fees and costs goes to charity rather than back to Novant. Class members who file a valid claim share the net fund pro rata, with claim forms due 90 days after the notice date and payments issued 30 days after the settlement becomes final. Novant denied wrongdoing and the settlement is not an admission of liability.9U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. In re: Novant Health, Inc., Settlement Agreement10Novant Health. Novant Health Reaches Preliminary Settlement Resolving Meta Pixel Class Action Claims
Kruger 401(k) Excessive-Fee Settlement
The largest known payout in a Novant Health lawsuit is the 2015 settlement of Kruger v. Novant Health Inc. (No. 1:14-cv-2018) in the Middle District of North Carolina. The ERISA class action alleged that Novant kept employees in expensive retail-class investment funds instead of cheaper institutional shares and that plan service providers were overpaid. Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company allegedly received about $8.6 million in excess compensation between 2009 and 2012, and plan broker D.L. Davis & Company allegedly received up to $9.6 million in commissions and fund-manager payments over the same period.11Plan Sponsor. Novant Health Agrees to Settle Excessive Fee Suit
Novant agreed to pay $32 million into participants’ 401(k) accounts or directly to former employees. The settlement also required a new investment policy, competitive bidding for recordkeeping and advisory services, and a full break with D.L. Davis and related entities. Novant maintained that revenue sharing was a legitimate way to fund plan administration and that it settled to end the litigation.12HR Daily Advisor. Novant Health Settles Excessive Fee Participant Suit for $32M
Horton Wrongful-Death and Malpractice Suit
Kyle Horton, an internal medicine physician and former congressional candidate, sued Novant Health on February 28, 2024 over the treatment of her father, Sam Horton Jr., at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Also named are Atlantic Brain and Spine, physician assistant Chase Whelan, and Dr. Jeffrey Beecher.13WECT. Physician, Former Congressional Candidate Sues Novant; Some Claims Backed by State Health Department
The complaint focuses on Whelan’s insertion of an external ventricular drain, which the plaintiff says was performed without proper qualifications, adequate supervision, or informed consent. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services substantiated three findings in March 2024: that staff allowed an advanced practice provider to perform a procedure without privileges, that informed consent was not obtained, and that staff failed to give the family necessary follow-up instructions about the device. The defendants deny negligence. Trial was tentatively set for April 2026.14Health Exec. Congressional Candidate, Physician Sues Hospital and Doctor Over Death of Father
Hunter Newborn Death Lawsuit
LaChunda Hunter refiled a lawsuit the week of January 26, 2026, alleging emotional distress and negligent misrepresentation by Novant Health after receiving conflicting information about the death of her premature daughter, Legacy Gray, at Novant Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte. The baby was born by C-section at 23 weeks on February 13, 2022, and Hunter was told six days later that the infant had died.15WBTV. Charlotte Mother Sues Health System After Conflicting Reports About Baby’s Death
According to the complaint, a doctor called three days after the death notification with a progress report saying the baby had “really turned around.” Novant later attributed the call to a chart mix-up involving another infant, an explanation Hunter disputes. She also cites medical records describing removal of tubes from the baby after the recorded time of death and questions the identity of the child she buried, citing physical differences and what she calls inconclusive DNA testing. Hunter originally filed in March 2024 and voluntarily dismissed the case in January 2025, preserving the right to refile within a year. Novant declined to comment on the specifics, citing patient privacy laws, and said it “take[s] all concerns seriously.”16Charlotte Observer. LaChunda Hunter Refiles Lawsuit Against Novant Health Over Daughter’s Death17WRAL. Mother Sues Novant Health Over Daughter’s Death, Haunting Questions
Basta Disability Discrimination Appeal
In 2022, the Fourth Circuit revived a disability discrimination lawsuit against Novant brought under the Rehabilitation Act, the Affordable Care Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The plaintiff, Basta, alleged that during a three-day hospital stay he repeatedly asked for a sign-language interpreter, was given malfunctioning video remote interpreting devices, and ultimately went without effective communication assistance.18U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Basta v. Novant Health, Inc., No. 21-2375
A district court had dismissed the case. The Fourth Circuit reversed and held that a plaintiff need not prove a pattern of systemic failures to show “deliberate indifference” under the Rehabilitation Act; it is enough to show that the defendant knew a federally protected right was at substantial risk of harm and failed to act. The case was returned to the lower court for further proceedings.18U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Basta v. Novant Health, Inc., No. 21-2375