OSF HealthCare was granted a default judgement in Knox County court against the owner of the former Cottage Hospital in a dispute over unpaid rent.
Sanjay Sharma never appeared in court or entered a plea after being sued by OSF HealthCare last year for breach of contract and damages, according to court records.
The judgment entered July 11 is for $51,806, which includes unpaid rent, legal fees, and interest, and could be used to put a lien on property or garnish wages.
The rent dispute dates back to 2022. Months after Cottage Hospital closed its doors amid losing Medicare funding due to numerous violations, OSF bought Cottage properties for $4 million.
The sale included the Medical Arts Clinic at 834 N. Seminary Street, where Cottage’s clinics were still operating in a diminished capacity in the spring of 2022, but were in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings.
As part of the sale, Sharma signed a lease with OSF for more than $23,000 a month to continue using the Medical Arts Building for remaining clinic operations.
The lease was only for a couple of months, ending in June 2022. The lawsuit filed in Knox County alleges the Knox Clinic Corporation, which is the legal entity of the former Cottage clinics, “wrongfully failed and refused to pay the amounts due.”
Court records reveal difficulty in serving Sharma. During one attempt, his wife told a process server he was traveling out the country.
Sharma’s wife was served in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., late last year, but the court deemed that insufficient.
On May 21, Sharma was finally served a summons. But he failed to appear in court later that month.
Sharma also failed to provide an updated address or a new registered agent for the Knox Clinic Corporation, in violation of the state’s Business Corporation Act.
The address on file with the Illinois Secretary of State for the Knox Clinic Corporation remains 695 N. Kellogg St., the address of the former Cottage Hospital.
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