The Ronald Reagan Atrium I Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has asked U. S. District Judge Gary Lancaster to quash an Aug. 19 subpoena from the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

Atrium's lawyer, Lawrence Zurawsky, called the subpoena a "blatant fishing expedition," and the nursing home has yet to produce any of the requested materials.

On behalf of the federal agency's inspector general, the U. S. attorney's office filed paperwork Friday stating that the subpoena is proper and the court would have no basis to block it. It will now be up to Lancaster to decide whether to uphold the subpoena or thwart it.

Prosecutors say records about patients' care and finances and Atrium's personnel and practices are needed "to determine whether the nursing home may have submitted false claims for payments to the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and to determine whether care provided to Atrium residents met professionally recognized standards. "

Local and federal agencies have been investigating Atrium since the Oct. 26, 2001, death of Mabel Taylor, 88, a dementia patient who was locked outside in a fenced courtyard on a 40-degree night.

Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril H. Wecht called for prosecution of Atrium administrator Martha F. Bell for "gross, reckless and negligent misconduct" for Taylor's death and an apparent attempt to conceal the nature of it.

Other families have also told investigators their concerns about negligent treatment of their loved ones, and the inspector general has subpoenaed documents covering 13 patients in addition to Taylor.