Accretive asks judge to dismiss lawsuit

Fairview Health Service's former debt collector, Accretive Health on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss Attorney General Lori Swanson's complaint against the company.

Swanson has accused Accretive of misconduct, including losing a laptop that contained more than 23,000 unencrypted patient records; collected debts for a period of time without a proper license; and sending collection letters to patients that were signed by fictitious individuals who posed as "patient financial advisors."

In its motion, Accretive said there's no evidence that the data on the laptop has been compromised, and calls it an "isolated incident" that allows the attorney general to "pursue a wide-ranging, legally meritless attack on Accretive Health's business practices."

But in court documents Swanson filed last month, Accretive indicated it had nine company laptops containing patient data stolen in 2011 alone. The judge will hold a hearing on Accretive's motion to dismiss on August 2.