Illegal immigrant's lawsuit against Martin Memorial slated to begin this week

By Melissa E. Holsman (Contact)
Saturday, June 20, 2009

STUART — A jury being seated this week will be asked to determine whether Martin Memorial Medical Center should be held liable for a claim of false imprisonment for the way they repatriated a brain-damaged and penniless illegal immigrant back to his native Guatemala in 2003.

How the hospital conducted itself during the extradition will be key to the deliberations of jurors in the expected three-week trial, pitting attorneys for Luis Jimenez, 38, and his Indiantown guardian, Montejo Gaspar Montejo, against Martin Memorial.

On July 10, 2003, the hospital hired a jet to fly Jimenez out of the country after receiving a court order permitting his return to Guatemala, which an appeals court later determined exceeded the court’s jurisdiction.

Since then, Jimenez’s lawyers, including Jack Scarola of West Palm Beach, have accused hospital executives of plotting a “clandestine deportationâ€