Allegheny County Councilman Charles P. McCullough filed suit against the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on Monday in a last-ditch effort to stop the scheduled Jan. 31 closing of the UPMC Braddock hospital.

"The sole purpose of this cause of action is to attempt to stop the shocking injustice of closing Braddock Hospital and thereby maintaining the principal and primary source of health care for the residents of Braddock and neighboring communities, which are among the poorest in Western Pennsylvania," Mr. McCullough wrote in the 53-page complaint.

UPMC spokesman Paul Wood said the health system is still reviewing the suit, which was filed late Monday, but added, "we are absolutely certain it is without merit. He is purposely misrepresenting the facts and he knows it."

The complaint also names bondholder The Bank of New York Trust Co. as a defendant, alleging that it failed to enforce covenants that would have kept the hospital open. "We just don't comment on those relationships," said Ron Gruendl, spokesman for The Bank of New York Mellon.

UPMC announced in October that it was closing the facility, which has been losing millions of dollars in recent years.

First Published: January 26, 2010, 5:00 a.m.