SANTA ANA, Calif. — A 79-year-old physician from Irvine was sued Thursday along with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, the UC Regents and the Liver Specialty Center by 15 women patients who claim they were sexually abused by the doctor.

The lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court alleges negligence, sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual battery, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unfair business practices, fraud, aiding and abetting, and concealment among other claims stemming from the criminal case filed earlier this year against Dr. John C. Hoefs.

Hoefs was initially charged with groping two women patients, but the complaint has been amended to show seven alleged victims. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the civil suit say there are eight alleged victims now.

Attorney Morgan Stewart said Hoefs "unfortunately used that power" as a physician, "abused that trust," to abuse his patients.

Stewart alleged that Hoefs' medical partners were apprised of complaints about the doctor, but ignored them.

"We've seen Hoag place profits over patients," Stewart said.

One plaintiff in the lawsuit said at a news conference at Stewart's offices in Irvine that she was a patient of the doctor's in Irvine in 2016.

"His conduct was unlike any I've experienced by any doctor," she said, adding she reported him to the state medical board.

"And they took no action," she said.

"It wasn't until May of this year when the doctor was arrested" that things changed, she said. "It was a pattern of abuse that affected many other women."

Stewart said when patients see a doctor, "We trust they're giving us medically sound advice. So when they ask us to disrobe they're not going to sexually abuse us, and he took advantage of that."

During examinations Hoefs was "grabbing and molesting them for no probable medical reason," Stewart said.

Attorney Courtney Thom said some of the patients saw the doctor "for life-threatening medical reasons."

She said that those patients were denied having someone close to them be involved in the appointment to support them. He also "denied his own staff to be chaperones," as is standard, Thom said.

The claims from some victims date back to 2006, Thom said.

"But we think there are substantially more victims out there," she said.

Medical board officials "should have listened" to the complaint, Thom said.

"A victim should be believed from the start," she said.

Hoag officials issued this statement:

"Hoag condemns the conduct alleged to have occurred in the recent lawsuit by former patients of Dr. Hoefs. 

"Dr. Hoefs has never been an employee of Hoag. He is a gastroenterologist with a sub-specialty in liver disease, who operated an independent, private medical practice and had affiliations at several organizations. Like many other private practice physicians, Dr. Hoefs leased office space in a building owned by Hoag. Upon learning of his arrest, Hoag's medical staff immediately suspended his hospital privileges and Hoag suspended access to his leased space.

"While Hoag is disheartened by the allegations made in the lawsuit, we recognize that the legal process must take its course, and we will continue to cooperate in all respects with the ongoing criminal proceedings against Dr. Hoefs. Providing world-class care defined by respect, integrity, compassion, and excellence for our community has long been Hoag's mission."

Hoefs is charged with 17 counts of sexual battery by fraud and three counts of sexual battery, all felonies. He was next due in court for a pretrial hearing Sept. 25 in the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.

Hoefs was accused of groping the breasts of one patient with a liver condition during five appointments starting in 2020, and when she tried to cover herself with a gown given to her during the medical visit, he pulled it down again to expose her chest, prosecutors alleged.

The doctor was accused of groping another patient's breasts during an exam in November 2016 and during another visit in October 2017, prosecutors alleged.