More than two years have passed since a Dallas jury ordered a Dallas-based physicians' group to pay local doctor Neal Fisher $6.3 million for defamation and breach of contract. The big jury award was in appellate limbo until June 25, when an appellate court finally affirmed the judgment in Fisher's favor.

Dr. Fisher was a member and "shareholder" in Pinnacle Anesthesia Consultants, P.A., a firm that provided obstetric anesthesiology services to Presbyterian Hospital. Things started to go bad for Dr. Fisher after he questioned the firm's billing practices and raised concerns that while the firm advertised as being "in-network" for all major health care plans, it allegedly had a business model of intentionally being "out-of-network" for its services. Pinnacle responded by accusing Dr. Fisher of abusing alcohol and drugs and made false accusations about the doctor's administrative and medical abilities. Pinnacle then fired him from the practice.

His personal and professional reputation at stake, Dr. Fisher voluntarily submitted to drug and alcohol testing of samples of his blood and hair through Presbyterian Hospital's own Impaired Physician Program. Though Dr. Fisher passed each test, Pinnacle neither apologized nor offered him his job back. The suit alleged that his lost job and damage to his reputation cost him millions in lost income.

"For the appellate court to rule in his favor on every single issue makes a statement about this case and about the jury's verdict," says attorney Mike Richardson of Rose•Walker, who represented Dr. Fisher at trial. With post-judgment interest, the amount of the judgment is now in excess of $10 million.