Anniston requests jury trial in RMC lawsuit

Regional Medical Center’s lawsuit against the Anniston City Council has been moved to a new judge’s courtroom ednesday after lawyers for the city requested  a jury trial.

RMC's board of directors sued the council last week to block the city's efforts to remove chairman Greg Kernion from the board.

The city and the hospital's governing board have been at odds for weeks over the city's efforts to find out more about RMC's affairs.

The hospital — city-run until the council spun it off as a separate entity 40 years ago — is operated by a board of directors appointed by Anniston and other local governments. In September, the City Council appointed Anniston City Manager Brian Johnson to fill a vacancy on the board — but the board blocked Johnson from its most recent meeting, saying the city hadn't given proper notice of the appointment.

Last week, the council passed a resolution to remove Kernion — also the city's appointee — from the board, citing Kernion's alleged failures to inform the city about  significant changes at the hospital. The RMC board later sued to block Kernion's ouster, arguing that under state law, board members can be removed only through an official impeachment process.

The case, originally in the court of Judge John Thomason, was moved Wednesday to Judge Brian Howell's courtroom because of the demand for a jury trial. Howell issued an order stating that the parties are still expected to meet for a hearing Friday.

Court records also show subpoenas issued Wednesday for more than a dozen people involved in the case, including Kernion and former RMC chief executive officer David McCormack