What You Should Know:
– Fruit Street Health, a New York-based healthcare startup, has filed a lawsuit against Sharecare, a healthcare technology company, seeking $25M in damages for alleged breach of contract and fiduciary duties.
– The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, claims that Sharecare violated the terms of a shared business agreement by launching its own diabetes prevention program, “Eat Right Now,” in January 2023.
Fruit Street Health Allegations Against Sharecare
Fruit Street Health alleges that Sharecare:
– Promised to exclusively offer its diabetes prevention program (DPP) to Sharecare members.
– Instead, launched its own competing DPP, cannibalizing Fruit Street’s business.
– Engaged in internal misconduct and breached fiduciary duties owed to Fruit Street.
Fruit Street Health claims that Sharecare’s actions have caused significant financial harm, including:
– Loss of revenue and market share.
– Damage to its reputation and brand.
– Difficulty attracting and retaining customers.
“Laurence Girard, CEO of Fruit Street Health, has stated that the company is “extremely disappointed” by Sharecare’s actions. He emphasized that Fruit Street Health has invested significant resources in developing its DPP program and that Sharecare’s alleged breach of contract and misappropriation of intellectual property has caused “substantial harm” to her company.
Sharecare’s Response to Allegations
Jen Martin Hall, the company’s executive vice president of corporate communications provided the following statement to HIT Consultant in an email:
“Sharecare has made multiple and considerable efforts to help Laurence Girard and offer our customers the option to choose Fruit Street as part of their Sharecare experience. Unfortunately, Fruit Street and Mr. Girard have failed to maintain the standards of financial stability and integrity we expect of our vendors and working with them was no longer a tenable option. Mr. Girard has a documented track record of using litigation as a go-to business strategy, and this latest meritless lawsuit has put us in the position of not only defending against unfounded allegations but also pursuing claims against Mr. Girard and Fruit Street, including for the more than $3M that Fruit Street owes Sharecare. We are confident that the actual facts will show the true nature of our vendor relationship and interactions with Fruit Street and Mr. Girard.”
