SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.

LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 17069 / July 18, 2001

SEC SETTLES INSIDER TRADING CHARGES AGAINST HENRY T. BLACKSTOCK

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Henry T. Blackstock, U.S.D.C. for the Middle District of Florida, Civil Action No. 3:00CV472-J21C

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it has accepted an offer of settlement from Henry T. Blackstock to resolve a civil action alleging violations of the federal securities laws governing insider trading. Blackstock is a director of American HomePatient, Inc., a health care company headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Florida on May 4, 2000, alleges that during September 1998, Blackstock learned material, nonpublic information about certain accounting charges that American HomePatient proposed to establish. Prior to any public announcement regarding the accounting charges, and without first obtaining clearance from American HomePatient's legal counsel, Blackstock sold 4,000 shares of American HomePatient stock held in an account that he managed for an investor. By selling the American HomePatient stock prior to the public announcement, Blackstock caused the investor to avoid losses of approximately $25,000.

Blackstock consented, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Payment of disgorgement was waived, and a civil penalty was not imposed, based on Blackstock's financial condition.