The Leapfrog Group has asked a Palm Beach County court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by five Tenet-owned hospitals that accuse the nonprofit of defamation and unfair business practices over its hospital safety grades.
In a motion for summary judgment filed this week, Leapfrog argued the case should be thrown out because its ratings are based on transparent, research-backed methods and protected by free-speech principles.
Leapfrog — which publishes A-to-F hospital grades twice a year to help patients assess safety — said its methodology is open to the public, reviewed by independent experts and updated annually with input from hospitals and researchers. The nonprofit maintains its intent is to inform consumers, not to provide professional medical advice or official regulatory guidance.
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At the center of the dispute is a 2024 policy change affecting hospitals that fail to submit safety data voluntarily. Previously, Leapfrog filled in missing scores with peer averages, but it began assigning the lowest possible rating, “Limited Achievement,” if no recent data existed.
Leapfrog says hospitals were notified of the change months in advance, and that the adjustment was applied consistently nationwide.
The filing follows a May cease-and-desist letter Leapfrog sent to the hospitals and their attorneys, demanding they stop spreading “false statements” about its grading system.
The hospitals’ lawsuit, filed April 30, accuses Leapfrog of publishing misleading safety rankings with a “rigged” methodology and of pressuring hospitals to pay for memberships or share proprietary data. The hospitals also claim that the highest-rated facilities tend to be Leapfrog members — a charge Leapfrog disputes.
The hospitals — all owned by for-profit Tenet Healthcare — are Good Samaritan Medical Center and St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach; Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach; Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center; and West Boca Medical Center. In the latest Leapfrog report cards, Delray, West Boca and Palm Beach Gardens received F grades, while Good Samaritan and St. Mary’s each received a D.
The hospitals are seeking more than $75,000 in damages, an order barring Leapfrog from grading them in the future, and removal of their recent scores from the organization’s website.
