ST. GEORGE — A lawsuit filed this month in Washington County alleges that the staff and management of KDXU radio of St. George damaged the reputation of a local medical company by portraying perverse sexual acts involving the business in a radio commercial parody at a staff Christmas party in 1996.
The Vascular Diagnostic Center, an impotence treatment facility that has since gone out of business, seeks general, specific and punitive damages in amounts to be determined at trial.
KDXU radio is owned by Simmons Radio Group of Salt Lake City, which operates 17 other radio stations in the West, including KSFI, KDYL-AM, KRSP, KXRK and KQMB in the Salt Lake market.
"We were absolutely mystified by the lawsuit," said G. Craig Hanson, president of Simmons Radio Group. "It's in the hands of our legal department."
He said the parody never aired to the public, but that staff members traditionally played parodies of some of their best commercials each year at the holiday party, attended by about 30 employees.
Hanson said Simmons offered to settle with the company out of court for a generous amount, but the company wanted significantly more.
A press release prepared by Phil Arizola, plaintiff and owner of Vascular Diagnostic Center, and his attorney states its position in the lawsuit, filed in 5th District Court:
"When we began our search for a good place to advertise, we thought that KDXU radio would be a good, clean wholesome place with high moral standards . . .. We are appalled this behavior is allowed and encouraged by the management and owners of this and other radio and television stations in the state.
"We will not tolerate this type of behavior in this community or any other. When you advertise with someone, you expect them to respect your business and name. Unfortunately, KDXU radio and Simmons Radio Group have forgotten that."
Hanson believes the company only heard about the parody from a casual, word-of-mouth mention after the Dec. 12, 1996, party. He also believes the company was struggling at the time and that the development of Viagra, not the in-house parody ad, put the company out of business.
Vascular Diagnostic Center is hoping to restart its business in Las Vegas. The company started advertising with Simmons in 1995 and stopped doing so abruptly after learning of the parody.
Arizola believes the company suffered negative publicity even after the party, because prominent members of the medical community somehow heard the parody.
"VDC's reputation was very quickly lost in the community to the point even VDC's staff doctor was no longer willing to work for the company," the lawsuit states.
The company's important partnership with Upjohn pharmaceutical company, which provided FDA-approved medications, was also canceled shortly after the parody incident. The company's business suffered a 75 percent decrease, and the company went out of business near the end of 1997.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com