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A lawsuit filed Friday by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita accuses the nonprofit Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit Inc. of being unable to provide services.
“Dillsboro and surrounding Dearborn County residents deserve an ambulance service provider that responds to calls in a timely manner,” Rokita said in a press release. “The nonprofit assets held by this corporation should be put to use for their intended purpose. Their response time is unacceptable when lives are truly at stake.”
Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit was incorporated in 1965 for the purpose of providing emergency services in and around Dillsboro. It operated in that capacity from 1965 until 2024 when it failed to obtain a contract for services in Dearborn County.
The lawsuit alleges that Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit’s response rate has been falling since at least 2021 and has bottomed out at responding to a mere 12% of calls — forcing the local community to engage additional service providers and expend resources to cover the services.
According to the lawsuit, the Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit has not provided emergency services to the Town of Dillsboro or surrounding areas since its contract was terminated in March 2024. Dearborn County has made supplemental distributions to Aurora EMS and Moores Hill EMS in order to provide coverage in communities.
“In June, the county extended an offer to restore county funding to the ambulance unit in return for DEAU’s agreement that the unit would hit reasonable, regular benchmarks for better response rates, that it would agree to an audit of the service, and that it would allow representatives of the county and the Town of Dillsboro to serve on the Ambulance Unit board,” the Dillsboro Town Council stated in July 2024. “DEAU treated that offer with arrogance and contempt.”
From 2016 to 2021, the Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit reported assets decreasing from $1,363,126 to $142,350.
“We need to start over when it comes to emergency services in the Dillsboro area. The entire DEAU Board of Directors should resign, effective immediately. DEAU’s equipment and assets should be used to form the basis of a new emergency ambulance unit to serve the Dillsboro area,” the town council’s July 2024 statement continued. “There is no way forward with the DEAU. It’s time for a change.”
Rokita has also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction that would prevent the Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit from disposing of assets while the lawsuit is pending.
The lawsuit is being brought under the Indiana Nonprofit Corporation Act in order to request that a receiver be appointed over the Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit to wind down the corporation’s affairs and ensure the corporate assets are being used for the benefit of the citizens of Dillsboro and surrounding communities in Dearborn County.
An attorney has not been listed for the Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit at this time. The Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit did not immediately respond to The Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment.
The case is State of Indiana v. Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit Inc., 15D02-2502-PL-000003.
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