Petersen Health Care, Health Care Authority to file suit against former CEO

SANTA ANA, Calif.

— PetersenHealthCare, a Santa Ana-based health care provider that owns and operates Petersen Hospital and PetersenCare, has filed a lawsuit against former Chief Executive Officer Michael Petersen and others for $500 million.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Santa Ana Superior Court names the company’s former CEO and six other company executives as defendants.

The lawsuit also names Petersen’s ex-chief financial officer, who was paid $10 million in stock awards in 2016 and 2017.

PetersenHealth Care, a company that manages and operates the Santa Ana Hospital, filed the lawsuit in January after an internal investigation into its financial performance.

Peterson left Petersen in 2017 amid concerns about the company�s financial performance and management of its hospitals and clinics.

Petinson, who left PetersonHealthCare in 2017, was a board member at Petersen from 2001 until 2017.

He has been a director since 2012.