BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Attorneys for a Minot hospital are asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit that blames the facility for the largest hepatitis C outbreak in recent U.S. history.

Trinity Hospital attorneys say the plaintiffs didn't follow proper legal procedure and made allegations that are "impertinent and simply untrue."

An attorney for the plaintiffs says Trinity's argument is "procedure over substance" as well as flawed, and that it's an attempt "to delay the victims' day in court."

Twenty-one outbreak victims and ManorCare nursing home are seeking money from Trinity. Trinity has denied responsibility.

Fifty-two cases of hepatitis C were confirmed in Minot between August 2013 and January 2015. Data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show it was the largest such outbreak in the nation in 13 years.

 

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