A writ of summons – which begins the filing of a civil lawsuit –
has been filed in McKean County Court by Priority Care Ambulance
against the City of Bradford, Fire Chief Bill McCormack and the
five municipalities holding ambulance service agreements with the
city.

The civil action is being brought by Brian Gustafson, owner of
Priority Care, against the city, its fire chief, Lewis Run Borough
and the townships of Bradford, Corydon, Foster and Lafayette.

Gustafson called the filing “a matter of keeping the time
line.”

“There’s certain things that have to be done to follow the
official procedure,” he added.

Gustafson’s attorney, Carl Hittinger of Philadelphia, had sent a
letter to all the municipalities last month. He had asked them to
clarify whether they interpreted their ambulance service agreements
with the city as exclusive, which would block Priority Care
Ambulance from operating in that municipality.

The government representatives were given 30 days to settle the
matter with Hittinger, or face becoming defendants in a lawsuit
over antitrust and unfair competition laws.

“It’s not something we’re going to let linger,” Gustafson
said.

Gustafson is already involved in litigation with McCormack. Last
year, he purchased McCormack Ambulance Service from McCormack and
his wife Joan. Gustafson merged the service with his business,
Priority Care.

Shortly after that, Bill McCormack and Bradford Mayor Michele
Corignani went to the area municipalities and told them they needed
to find a financial way to support the city’s ambulance
service.

The result was service agreements between the city and the five
municipalities, where each municipality pays a different amount,
based on the number of residents, for ambulance service.

Then Gustafson began experiencing difficulty in obtaining
business from facilities that had previously used McCormack’s
service.

According to the suit, the city was seeking to establish itself
as the exclusive provider of ambulance services, shutting out
Priority Care. And at the same time, McCormack intentionally
“maligned and slandered” Gustafson’s professional abilities, the
suit alleges.

McCormack sued Gustafson for failing to make payments after
buying the business, and Gustafson counter-sued, saying McCormack
is trying to destroy his business.

Gustafson is seeking a return of the total purchase price for
the private ambulance service, which was reportedly $428,875. He is
also seeking punitive damages, saying he has lost business because
of McCormack’s actions.

Gustafson explained to The Era that since the lawsuit has been
receiving publicity, he has been contacted by people who want to
get involved.

“We had a small initial group of people willing to testify,” he
explained. Since the media coverage of the litigation began, people
have been coming forward, offering to give statements or testimony
relevant to the case, Gustafson said.