Banning Lyon was a plaintiff in a 1990s class action lawsuit against National Medical Enterprises, now Tenet Healthcare. His involvement in the lawsuit led to the publication of an autobiographical op-ed in The New York Times in October, 1993. Mr. Lyon was born and raised in Southern California and was a founding member of the Hagfish punk Rock band.
Banning Lyon co-founded the punk rock band Hagfish with Doni and Zach Blair in 1991. Mr. Lyon drummed for the band for approximately two years, opening for bands such as ALL, Swervedriver, and Poster Children. He finally left the band after several disagreements with the Blair brothers. [1]
Mr. Lyon went on to reunite with high school friends Jarrod King (guitar) and Jef King (vocals), with Damon Earnheart on bass, to form the skate punk band Cleaners, based in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex. They recorded and released Walking on Eggshells before ultimately splitting up in 1999. [2]
Shortly after his leaving Hagfish in 1993, Mr. Lyon became involved in a class action suit against National Medical Enterprises (NME), now known as Tenet Healthcare. The suit was led by Robert Andrews of the law firm Andrews and Clarke located in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Mr. Lyon authored an autobiographical op-ed for The New York Times that was published on October 13, 1993. [3] The article details his having been hospitalized in a hospital owned by NME. Less than a week later, on October 18, Business Week published an article detailing Mr. Lyon's story, going on to further detail the Federal government's involvement in an ongoing investigation of NME. That investigation led to what would become one of the largest health-care-fraud cases in American medical history. [4]
Shortly after the publishing of the articles, National Medical Enterprises agreed to settle out of court. In June 1994, Peter Alexis and NME pleaded guilty to federal criminal and civil charges that included paying kickbacks to doctors in return for patient referrals. The chain paid a $379 million fine. At the time it was the largest fine levied for health care fraud. [5] [6]
In February 1995, the doctors that had been defendants in the class action suit in which Mr. Lyon had been involved sued Lyon, his attorney Robert Andrews, and others. The doctors claimed that Mr. Lyon and the others had defamed them, citing Mr. Lyon's statements previously made in the Dallas Morning News and Business Week. [7] The case was ultimately dropped by the doctors.
In 2024, his autobiography The Chair and the Valley about his experience with juvenile mental health care was published. [8]
Mr. Lyon lives in northern California and since 2011, has worked as a backpacking guide in Yosemite National Park. [9]
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Hagfish were an American rock band originated in Sherman, Texas that rose to notoriety via performances in the Deep Ellum district of Dallas, Texas, drawing influences from both punk rock and alternative rock. The lineup included lead vocalist George Stroud Reagan III, guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Doni Blair and drummer Tony Barsotti for the majority of the band's career, including nearly all of their recorded work. Formed by the Blair brothers in 1991, Hagfish emerged with contemporaries Tripping Daisy and Toadies as part of the 1990s Dallas/Fort Worth alternative rock scene and were also heavily influenced by the Descendents/All, whose members recorded and produced two of the band's studio albums. After officially disbanding in 2001, Hagfish have reunited occasionally for live performances.
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