Policy Authorizing the Initiation of Lawsuits on Behalf of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the Benefit of UNC Physicians and Associates and on Behalf of East Carolina University for the Benefit of the ECU Medical Faculty Practice Plan

WHEREAS, UNC Physicians and Associates is a unit of the School of Medicine of UNC-CH which administers collection of accounts for providing various professional services, including patient care within clinics maintained at the University of North Carolina Hospitals at Chapel Hill; and

WHEREAS, ECU Medical Faculty Practice Plan is a unit of the School of Medicine of ECU which administers collection of accounts for providing various professional services, including patient care within clinics operated by ECU and at Pitt County Memorial Hospital; and

WHEREAS, from time to time it is necessary to initiate lawsuits for the collection of unpaid accounts for the rendering of such professional services; and

WHEREAS, neither the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill nor East Carolina University has independent authority to initiate, prosecute, or settle lawsuits in its own name for the collection of unpaid accounts; and

WHEREAS, it would expedite collection efforts if the Attorney General were authorized to initiate such lawsuits on behalf of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Carolina University without requiring that each such lawsuit be authorized by the Board of Governors;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Board of Governors, that the Attorney General of North Carolina is authorized, under the provisions of N.C.G.S. § 116-3, to initiate lawsuits in the name of the University of North Carolina, on behalf of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for the collection of any unpaid account administered by UNC Physicians and Associates, and is authorized to initiate lawsuits in the name of the University of North Carolina, on behalf of East Carolina University, for the collection of any unpaid account administered by the ECU Medical Faculty Practice Plan, as the Attorney General may deem appropriate, and the chancellors of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Carolina University, or their respective designees, are authorized to settle these lawsuits.