Houston Methodist Hospital is back in court seeking more money from Dr. Mary Talley Bowden despite previously accepting a settlement payment.

The hospital system is attempting to collect $26,000 in interest and additional legal fees from Bowden, who had already sent a check to settle a years-long legal dispute. Her attorney, Dennis Postiglione, says the check was cashed weeks ago and argues the settlement was a binding agreement.

“This is an enforceable contract,” Bowden’s attorney told The Dallas Express.

Postiglione went on to note that the continued public nature of this case could have been avoided. “It should also be noted that Methodist was offered both confidentiality and non-disparagement language but refused to include that in the agreement,” Postiglione said.

The leadership of the hospital sees it differently. “Dr. Bowden had her day in court, and the court ruled in Houston Methodist’s favor. As part of that ruling, Dr. Bowden was required to pay our attorney fees, which she appealed and subsequently lost. This latest filing is simply an attempt to compel Dr. Bowden to do what is right and pay the entirety of the debt,” a spokeswoman for the hospital told The Dallas Express.

The legal battle stems from a defamation lawsuit Bowden filed against Houston Methodist after the hospital publicly criticized her in 2021 for her stance against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

That case and the appeal faced setbacks from the start. Bowden’s initial attorney suffered a stroke and was unable to continue representing her. Later, Postiglione added that one of the Methodists’ attorneys stopped communicating with Bowden’s team for a prolonged period of time and eventually left the firm representing Methodist.

This created a bevy of delays and legal headaches, but in the end, after Bowden lost the case and the appeal was unsuccessful, Methodist sought $166,000 in legal fees and other costs from her.

After negotiations, the parties reached a confidential settlement deal, which included a February 1 deadline for full execution. According to Bowden’s current legal team, the hospital signaled around January 27 that it would pull out of the agreement — even though a check from Bowden was already in the mail.

The court record offered insight into what has agitated Methodist’s leadership and lawyers: “Houston Methodist has become aware of recent public statements made by Dr. Bowden regarding Houston Methodist and Dr. Boom, and is no longer interested in forgiving the interest owed on the judgment. Absent an immediate payment of the full amount owed, including interest, we will pursue post-judgment discovery. Please consider the draft release withdrawn,” per a January 27 email from one of Methodist’s lawyers to Postiglione.

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Despite the apparent intent to renege, Postiglione told DX that the check was cashed approximately two weeks later, signaling that Methodist was backing down.

Despite cashing the check, Houston Methodist launched new legal action seeking additional funds. The latest legal filings from March 15 read, “Defendants The Methodist Hospital (“Houston Methodist”) and Dr. Marc L. Boom [President and CEO of Methodist] move to compel plaintiff to answer postjudgment discovery to collect on the Court’s Final Judgment.”

The dispute marks the latest escalation in a years-long saga that began during the pandemic between Bowden and Houston Methodist.

In 2021, the hospital suspended her privileges and accused her on social media of spreading “dangerous misinformation” — a statement that, in part, prompted Bowden’s defamation lawsuit.

“Dr. Bowden, who has never admitted a patient at Houston Methodist Hospital, is spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science,” the hospital wrote in a widely shared social media post at the time.

Bowden, for her part, has maintained that the hospital acted vindictively. “I had never set foot in that hospital,” she told DX last year. “I had those privileges in case of an emergency.” She said she learned of the suspension not from the hospital but from a reporter’s text message.

The fallout with Houston Methodist triggered further scrutiny from the Texas Medical Board (TMB), which Bowden and several state lawmakers say was politically motivated. She claimed the hospital reported her for resigning privileges while supposedly under investigation — a rule she contends was misapplied.

“That exists to prevent shady [dealings] … doctors doing something bad and then trying to flee,” Bowden told DX. “Houston Methodist has never provided any evidence I was under investigation.”

The standoff has drawn support from some Texas legislators. As previously reported by DX, Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) said the TMB “violated the basic tenets of her due process rights” and blasted what he called a “non-stop harassment campaign.”

Bowden was honored by Toth and several other state reps, including Shelley Luther (R-Sherman), who was jailed for defying COVID mandates in 2020, with a resolution in the Texas House on May 15 of this year. Bowden stood in the gallery as the gathered representatives commended her and called on the Texas Medical Board’s case against her to be brought to an end.

Bowden’s broader legal challenges have included a high-profile suit against the FDA, which she accused of misleading the public about the use of ivermectin. That case ended in partial victory after a federal appeals court appeared ready to rebuke the agency, and the agency agreed to remove controversial posts.

Meanwhile, her ongoing state-level battles — including the fight with Houston Methodist — show no sign of slowing down.

Despite the latest lawsuit seeking more money from her, Bowden’s attorney told DX they believe the prior settlement should stand and will argue in court that Methodist must honor it.