2 Syncor Officers to Appeal Court Ruling

Two former officers of Syncor International said they will appeal a New Mexico state judge’s ruling that they lured Syncor employees to another company in violation of agreements the executives had reached with Chatsworth-based Syncor.

The officers, R. Glenn Beatty and Steven Dessel, are now executives of Summa Pharmacy, a unit of Albuquerque-based Summa Medical, which competes with Syncor in the commercial pharmacy business.

Albuquerque District Judge Rebecca Sitterly agreed with Syncor’s contention that the two lured other Syncor employees to join Summa in violation of the executives’ employment contracts with Syncor. She also ordered Beatty and Dessel to jointly pay Syncor $236,595 in damages plus legal fees.

Summa Medical earlier this year filed a separate, $120-million antitrust suit against Syncor, accusing it of monopolizing the market for distributing radiopharmaceuticals, which are used with patient-scanning devices. Syncor has termed that suit “ungrounded.”