Ex Parte Lankford

MADDOX, Justice.

This petition for a writ of mandamus arose out of a continuing complex business dispute between two doctors, Dr. James D. Blake and Dr. D. Bruce Irwin.1 The dispute centers on control of a business corporation known as American Family Care, Inc. (“AFC”), which is engaged in the delivery of health care services to the public. Previously, Dr. Blake was in control of AFC, but as a result of this lengthy litigation, Dr. Irwin gained control of it.

The petitioner Frank Lankford is not a doctor, and he is not involved in the current fight for control of AFC, but he had invested a…