A lawsuit AND a TRO? Dem Party chair sues doctor, says he needs at least $100K

“Call in the lawyers.”

That’s what Patrick Eronini, chairman of the Hidalgo County Democratic Party, did last Wednesday (Jan. 19) in an effort to prevent a local prominent physician, Shahid Rashid, from evicting him from the doc’s medical clinic on S. Shary in Mission.

The county chair has been hanging his hat there rent free since last summer (the doc’s also paying all the utility bills).

Eronini has been at the same location for approximately seven months, plying his trade as a nurse practitioner (an RN with a graduate degree in advanced practice nursing), using Rashid as his supervising physician.

“I am no longer his supervising physician,” said Rashid, “so he has no business being here.”

At least that was the plan until things went awry, according to which side is telling the tale.

The way Rashid tells it, Eronini is using the clinic mainly as a political campaign headquarters for his good friend, Norma Ramirez, who is running in the Democratic primary for county judge.

To get a sense of what’s being disputed, picture a nice-looking medical clinic with Shary Rd. frontage that occupies between 5,000 and 6,000 square feet of space, divided into two suites, A and B. Eronini occupies suite A, which takes up approximately 70 to 80 percent of the entire complex. He has changed the front-door lock so that Rashid no longer has access to his entire building, and he’s jammed a chair up against a side door that ties the two suites, A and B, together.

The only means by which Rashid has access to his building is via security cams, and the photos they show are interesting to say the least. There is one photo of Eronini with a semi-automatic pistol that’s just sitting on top of a copy machine. There are photos of people after hours who clearly look like they might be campaign workers. There is a big room half jammed with boxes that look like they contain campaign material. There are photos of Ramirez’s campaign signs, pamphlets lying about, both inside and outside Suite A.

“It looks more like a campaign headquarters than a medical clinic,” says Rashid, sounding frustrated.

In the Beginning

Rashid says he and his wife had met Norma Ramirez and Patrick Eronini at a local restaurant last May (2021). At the time, Ramirez was still chairwoman of the county’s Democratic Party, and after an unsuccessful run for McAllen mayor, Rashid might still have some political ambitions, and he wanted to get connected to some more people, so he invited her to dinner. She brought along Patrick Eronini as her escort.

Rashid says that Ramirez introduced Eronini as her husband. Ramirez denies that claim, saying that Eronini is just a close friend, and she has never introduced him to anyone as her husband.

“During the dinner time,” said Rashid, “I asked (Eronini), ‘What do you do?’ He mentioned that he is a nurse practitioner. And I asked him where he worked And he said, ‘I just do some work here and there.’ Norma asked me if I could help him out since he didn’t have a steady job. I said, yes, I can help him.”

Rashid says that when he was a young physician with little resources, a local physician took him under his wing, offered him free office space to set up his practice, and so he, in turn, wanted to extend the same courtesy to a fellow medical practitioner in need.

The doc who also ran for McAllen mayor last spring now calls his interaction with Eronini as a classic case of “No good deed goes unpunished.”

Rashid says that Eronini asked him if he would be his “supervising physician.” To which the doc said he didn’t have a problem with that, and yes, he would help him in that regard as well.

“I said, yes, I’ll be your supervising physician and you can see (your patients) in my facility, under my supervision (at the Mission clinic).”

In late May or early June, Rashid says that Eronini moved into Suite A.

“Right away, he was very excited. ‘Oh, it’s a beautiful place,’ he told me. I said, ‘You need any help, let me know.’”

Then came the fall season, the second week of October to be exact, and with it, came disturbing news, according to Rashid.

“I got a text from a physician, (who works out of Cameron County), asking me to give him a call, so I did. He told me, ‘Doc, there is a problem with one of your employees. He has some monoclonal antibodies (used to fight COVID symptoms), and he’s not giving them (back) to me.’

Rashid says that the physician told him that the plan had been for Eronini to infuse people with the antibodies under some joint COVID venture, but the county chair had grown too greedy, and had refused to return them unless he forked over between $5,000 and $6,000. The physician then told Rashid that his lawyer was sending Eronini a letter, and if the antibodies were not returned, he would file a lawsuit.

“He told me that he had also filed a police report, and I have that document.”

The way these life-saving antibodies work, according to Dr. Rashid, is that the feds hand them out free of charge to medical practitioners, but reimburse them for administering the drug.

Rashid says he told his medical colleague that he had no idea what he was talking about.

“I told (the doctor), ‘First of all, I just want to clarify, he (Eronini) is not an employee (of mine). Number two, I was unaware of this thing. Number three, I’m unaware that he has your antibodies in his possession.’”

Rashid says that the call concerning the monoclonal antibodies was a wake-up call of sorts.

Up until that time, Eronini had never called upon him to sign off on anything as his supervisory physician, but that hadn’t really sounded any alarm bells.

“My staff had told me that he wasn’t at the clinic on a regular basis and that he was coming in and out at odd hours, but I just thought he was also working somewhere else. When you’re starting a new practice, you’re often out talking to other people, trying to build your patient base. But the thing that really shook me up was this call from (this other physician).”

Talking to Eronini about the troubling antibody call from his medical colleague, Rashid said, got him nowhere. The county Dem chair said that the other doc owed him money for the antibodies because they had an agreement. Besides, said Eronini, according to Rashid, he had already spent approximately $5,000 to $6,000 setting up an infusion center inside Suite A.

“I (told Eronini) that there are two things which are very, very critical. ‘Number one, I’m a supervising physician. I have to know what you can do. I can only supervise the things that are in my domain and where I feel comfortable that you are able to decide those services.”

Rashid said he told Eronini that he must return the antibodies as soon as possible, “Because you are in the unauthorized possession of a medication (the monoclonal antibodies) from a physician who is asking you to return it, and you’re not doing so.”

Besides, Rashid said, if anyone was being infused by Eronini, without his knowledge and consent, and if anyone suffers a reaction to the drug, then it could become his problem because S. Shary is his property, and he’s supposed to be Eronini’s supervising physician, with the nurse practitioner (Eronini) doing nothing without Rashid’s supervision and consent.

Worry Starts to Mount

It was at this point, mid-October 2021 that Shahid Rashid, MD, started getting concerned about both Patrick Eronini and what exactly was going on inside Suite A.

“I got a little anxious and nervous and concerned. I didn’t know what he was doing, so I started keeping an eye out. What I found out was, according to my staff, (Eronini) was coming in at at odd hours, he had a lot of people there, different kinds of people coming in and out, like political workers and this and that.”

It didn’t take long for Rashid to figure out that Eronini was using Suite A as a political headquarters for Norma Ramirez’s run for county judge, a charge that Ramirez herself would later deny.

So he sent Patrick Eronini a text message to try and resolve the issues that the pain-management physician found troubling:

“Good Morning:

“I already informed you that I will be busy all this week. Regarding Sharyland Clinic you can only see patients who are seeking medical treatment.

“Please no solicitation or advertisements regarding any other services without my prior approval that also includes infusions and any other similar services; especially COVID testing and Toxicology, which will only be done by my lab.

“I will not have any further discussion on this issue.

“Furthermore none of your employees or any persons will be given the keys or made duplicate keys of my property .

“You need to share the information of your employees for the safety and security of my property and business, and also share their background checks done thru a reliable source.

“Just to be clear, only those employees of yours will be authorized to visit the clinic who have obtained our prior clearance. My staff will open the clinic for your employees in your absence and they will adhere to the above conditions. If they are found to be disruptive or disrespectful to my staff they will be removed immediately. No other signs or advertisements will be placed at the clinic without our approval. You are not allowed to make any physical or visible changes that also includes changing the locks or passwords of our systems or equipment.

“The sole purpose of this clinic will strictly remain a medical office and no other activities, political or otherwise, will be permitted.

“It is necessary to inform you for smooth and professional environment at our facility and to avoid any future misunderstandings since this premise has never been leased to you. You have only been allowed to work there under my supervision, as your Supervising Physician. As your Supervising Physician, I must be made aware of all happenings in my clinic building.

“Any (political) signs placed without our approval will be removed without notice. Our office (must) remain accessible to us at all times, including all areas and rooms.

“Just to be very clear I am only helping you, and not to have you as my competitor or adversary. If I feel this good faith relationship is no longer professionally or otherwise conducive I will withdraw myself as your supervising physician and will request you to vacate our property immediately.”

Best Regards

Shahid Rashid MD

Norma Calls

Dr. Rashid says that after that text, he got a call from Patrick Eronini’s good friend, Norma Ramirez, who said she would like to speak with him. She was calling to make sure that things were still working out between the two.

“I told her that what (Eronini) was doing is not correct. I told her that I had never shared these (problems) with her because I’m his supervising physician, and I’d rather speak with him directly.”

Rashid says that Ramirez told him that Eronini had already established his practice at Rashid’s clinic and the reason so many patients are coming to the clinic is because of the work that Eronini had already put into building his practice.

Rashid says he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He told Ramirez, “Do you understand I have had this facility for over 17 years. I’ve had this practice here for that long. You’re telling me that he was here like two months or three months or four months, and he’s the one who (is building up the clinic)?”

Rashid says he also told Norma Ramirez, “He’s not even there. And what I see is all your political workers and everything. I will not allow any political activities here. I’m not going to allow him to do anything that I do not approve. And I’m his supervising physician, and if he continues (doing what he’s doing), I may have to let him go. I do not have time for this.”

Rashid says that’s when Ramirez told him, “Why don’t you pay him something so that he could get out?”

The doc says he told Ramirez he didn’t understand what she was saying.

“I said, ‘Norma, you are asking me to pay him to get out from here? I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

According to Rashid, Ramirez then told him that Eronini had worked hard building his practice at the S. Shary clinic. He’d spent money block-walking, telling the people in the area about the clinic.

“I said to her, ‘I’m not charging (him) a penny. And you’re telling me to pay him something (to leave?).’

“She tells me, ‘Yeah, because he invested in there.’

The story deteriorates further, according to Rashid.

“When I found out from my staff and the security cameras that he had a gun on the premises, I started to get really worried.”

On the front of the medical clinic doors are no-guns-allowed signs.

When Rashid pushed even harder earlier this month, trying to enforce upon Eronini the concept that he could do nothing inside or outside of his clinic without his permission, and that no political activity inside Suite A would be tolerated, the county Democratic chair sent him a text message, which basically read, “You don’t want to believe me, but I want to thank you for being my physician supervisor, but I have decided to seek, and (have) found another supervisor effective immediately. It is in the best interest of both of us.”

Rashid says that in a separate text, Eronini also told him that his staff shouldn’t interfere in his operations in any manner.

“So then I called my attorney,” Rashid says, “and I said that this has become a problem. And so (my attorney) said, ‘Then listen, because he’s not your tenant, he’s not paying you anything -- you are paying all the taxes and everything – that’s your property. That’s your place. So you have to give him the vacate notice.’”

A short time later, Rashid had some of his staff visit Suite A to remove some of his own equipment he had stored there. In response, Eronini called the Mission cops.

“They told me, ‘Doc, the problem is that you’re a physician and (we) don’t want you to get wrapped up into this thing. You just talk to your attorney. It’s a civil matter. You have to go through the justice of the peace to get him out because otherwise it’s going to be… we have to make sure that there’s no fight or anything.”

After that, according to Rashid, Eronini closed off all access to Suite A. The front door lock had already been changed, but now he had couches “and everything” pushed up against the side access door, so no one from Rashid’s side of his own building could enter Eronini’s suite.

“So the political activities continue,” Rashid says, “people are coming in for political things; Norma sitting there with the legs up (on the desk).”

Rashid says more things started to come to light. Such as, Eronini was using Rashid’s Suite A to make up political ads, political videos, “and all those sort of things.”

Not only that, says Rashid, but given the layout of the entire clinic, Eronini now has possession of all the main clinics.

“That’s the bottom line. All the exam rooms, which are, from the back all the way to the front, the lobby, the main reception (desk), my office, everything is in his possession now. And it’s now being used as a political hub for the (local) Democratic Party.”

All of these quotes from Dr. Rashid came prior to Eronini’s temporary restraining order being signed Jan. 19 by Judge Omar Maldonado (County Court-at-Law No. 8). That TRO not only puts a hold on any attempt to evict Eronini from Rashid’s S. Shary property until both parties go to court Feb. 2, but it also prohibits Rashid from discussing this story publicly.

Two days prior to the Jan. 19th TRO, however, Dr. Shahid Rashid had this one final thought:

“One thing is for sure, I will get my place today, tomorrow, or whenever. I will get my place because I’m the owner, and that’s the bottom line.

“Number two is that, for Norma (Ramirez), what she will never get back is her name, her reputation, and the reputation of both of them, really, because this is a stain. They were using somebody’s kindness to their advantage.”

Candidate Ramirez Responds

It was clear from the outset, Jan. 17, when The Advance first mentioned Rashid’s name to Norma Ramirez, candidate for county judge, that she wasn’t willing to speak on the record about this matter.

In fact, when Rashid’s name was first brought up to her over the phone, her initial response was, “Oh, my God.”

She then said that she would like very much to be kept out of “this mess,” but she was willing to share “the other side of the story” off the record, which she did.

She told The Advance her side of the story, but it was all off the record. What she could do, however, she said, was ask Patrick Eronini to give this reporter a call. She later called back and asked if The Advance could send the same reporter over to Suite A so that Eronini could talk about the matter and give a tour of the place to show what he had done to the suite.

Twenty minutes before the scheduled meeting, Ramirez called back to say that Eronini had decided not to speak on the record. She also tossed around the words “lawyer” and “lawsuit for slander” several times.

Tuesday, later that afternoon, Jan. 18, Ramirez called back to say that she had decided to make a public statement after all regarding the matter and what was going on at the S. Shary clinic.

“Well, this is my statement. My statement is that Dr. Rashid has lost his mind and he doesn’t know what he is doing. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.”

Ramirez then said that Rashid had told an attorney she knows that he is going to “ruin my campaign.”

In a previous conversation, Rashid says he didn’t even call Ramirez when his problems with Eronini first surfaced. He wanted to deal directly with the party chair. It was Ramirez who phoned him about the discord between the two, not the other way around; and he had never told anyone that he was out to destroy her campaign.

Ramirez said that she is not going to be bullied by somebody because they have money and consider themselves to be powerful, and that there are always two sides to a story.

“Dr. Rashid and Patrick should resolve their issues amicably. And if not, they should address the court system,” she said.

Ramirez then brings up the issue of slander.

“And he should leave me out of it because if he slanders me, I would not take it lightly. I am used to being bullied by men. I’m in a position where I own a produce company, which is a man’s world. I’m in a position where I own a transportation company, which is also a man’s world. And I’ve been dealing with men for many, many, many years, and I do not take being bullied lightly. If it costs (me) my campaign, then so be it. That’s my statement.”

A TRO & a Lawsuit?

The same day that this story originally broke in The Advance, Jan. 19, Eronini filed his legal pleading (TRO and a lawsuit) at the county courthouse, naming Shahid Rashid as the defendant.

As a counter, Dr. Rashid’s attorney filed a motion for an emergency hearing, which basically claims that Eronini’s presence at his S. Shary clinic is affecting the doctor’s business interests and his patients’ medical care.

Rashid’s attorney of record is McAllen-based Pete Diaz.

The temporary restraining order, now signed by Judge Omar Maldonado, basically prohibits Rashid from forcefully evicting Eronini from his clinic on S. Shary until the court can hear the case Feb. 2. Nor can Rashid and/or his staff step inside Suite A until this matter is resolved.

On top of the TRO, Rashid received a letter from the county clerk that starts out with these words: “NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: “You have been sued.”

In that original plaintiff’s petition, which asks for $100,000 or less in monetary relief, Patrick Eronini is described as “practicing physician, fully licensed in the State of Texas.”

The lawsuit then claims that Rashid has “desiminiated [disseminated] false information or information placed on [in] a false light, due to news media reporters. This will cause irreparable damage to the plaintiff, for which plaintiff seek [seeks] relief.”

According to Eronini’s TRO, Rashid only gave him one day to vacate the S. Shary clinic even though they had a verbal agreement that gave the Dem party chair six months to improve Suite A.

He was supposed to get a lease agreement from Rashid, but none was ever forthcoming, according to Eronini.

Rashid refuted this during his initial interview before the TRO was filed. He said there had never been any agreement between he and Eronini, written or verbal.

In an affidavit attached to the lawsuit, Eronini says that “Dr. Rashid is fully aware that I am a physician also and the U.S. Government mandates us to give at least 30 days notice to their patients so that any and all governmental offices would have time to modify their records.”

That is part of Eronini’s argument. When he got the eviction letter from Rashid’s attorney, it came with only a one-day notice to vacate. He needs more time (relief) than that to get his affairs in order, he claims.

The letter to Eronini from Rashid’s attorney did indeed arrive with a one-day vacate notice, but according to the letter, the Dem chair had “no legal right to continue possession of the property.”

There is a lingering question, however: does Texas require a nurse practitioner to give patients a 30-day notice of relocation, or is that only relevant for licensed physicians (M.D.s or D.O.s)?

The TRO hearing is set for next Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in County Court-at-Law No. 8.

In a story published last week about this affair, Dr. Shahid Rashid had this to say about his Patrick Eronini experience, and that was before the nurse practitioner filed his legal pleadings with the court on Jan. 19:

“I’ll tell you what the moral of this story is. If you feel inclined to do someone a good deed, be very careful. Get an explicit contract drawn up with the help of an attorney, and don’t take anything at face value, because things may not be as they first appear. It’s just not right though. The money I’ve already spent on this, the headaches, the time it’s taken away from patient care, all for nothing but nonsense.”

More to come. Stay tuned.