Mealey's Elder Law : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Elder Law

May 03, 2024
Discovery Sought In Abuse Suit Against Care Home Over Demeaning Snapchat Videos

LEWISBURG, Pa. — The attorney-in-fact for a resident of a personal care home moved a Pennsylvania state court to compel discovery in a negligence suit against the care home, related entities, administrators and staff, alleging that the care-dependent resident incurred abuse when staff purportedly posed the resident and took photos and videos of her that were uploaded to Snapchat “for no legitimate reason other than to demean” her.
April 30, 2024
California Nursing Home Chain Settles COVID-Related Medicare Fraud Claims For $7M

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a California-based chain of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and two of its executives agreed to pay $7,084,000 to settle a federal False Claims Act (FCA) suit related to alleged fraudulent billing for a higher level of skilled care than needed under Medicare Part A for facility residents who did not test positive for COVID-19 but were near a person who did, thereby fraudulently increasing the SNFs Medicare revenue.
April 29, 2024
Maryland Panel Vacates Order Denying Stay In Foreclosure Action Against Estate

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland appellate court vacated and remanded a lower court order denying a decedent’s estate’s motion to stay or dismiss a foreclosure action filed against it by a trust seeking to foreclose on a residential property owned by the estate, finding that the trust lacks the right to foreclose because it does not have the appropriate revolving credit license.
April 24, 2024
Dismissal Stipulated To In LTC Insurance Coverage Row Over Chronically Ill Status

PHILADELPHIA — An insured who sued her insurer, a third-party insurance administration provider and related parties stipulated to dismissal of most of her claims against the third-party provider in her suit seeking coverage for long-term care (LTC) and home health expenses after her insurer denied her claims upon determining that she was no longer chronically ill.
April 24, 2024
Panel Affirms Award Of IRA To Decedent’s Ex-Wife As Not Invalidated By Divorce

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri appellate court on April 23 affirmed a lower court’s judgment awarding a decedent’s ex-wife the proceeds of his individual retirement account (IRA) for which he named her as the primary beneficiary before they divorced, finding that though the divorce decree released the ex-wife’s claims to inherit through the probate estate, it did not “limit her ability to receive proceeds from Decedent through a non-probate transfer.”
April 23, 2024
Panel Remands Negligence Suit Against ‘Misclassified’ Assisted Living Facility

CINCINNATI — An Ohio appellate court reversed in part and remanded a breach of contract and negligence suit filed against an assisted living facility by a former resident, finding that the trial court “erred as a matter of law” when it “misclassified” the facility as a residential care facility and granted summary judgment to the facility on a resident’s claim for violations of a nursing home resident’s rights.
April 22, 2024
Panel: Arbitration Provision Is Not Enforceable As Signed By Health Care Surrogate

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida appellate court on April 19 reversed and remanded a lower court’s order compelling arbitration in a negligence and wrongful death suit filed against a nursing home, finding that because the person signing the admission agreement on behalf of the deceased former resident signed as her health care surrogate (HCS) rather than her attorney-in-fact, the admission agreement’s arbitration provision is not enforceable.
April 19, 2024
Car Dealerships Will Pay $325,000 To End EEOC Disability, Age Bias Suit

TEXARKANA, Texas — A Texas company that owns car dealerships will pay $325,000 and provide other relief to settle a lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a Texas federal court alleging that the employer fired a senior sales executive to avoid medical costs related to his cancer diagnosis, the EEOC announced.
April 17, 2024
Drug Pricing Suit Not Subject To Medicare Process, Appellants Tell 5th Circuit

SAN ANTONIO — The government holds a “constitutionally dubious” position in a challenge to the Medicare drug price negotiation law, and a federal judge erred in dismissing on the grounds that the claim is subject to the Medicare Act channeling provision, appellants tell the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an appellant brief.
April 11, 2024
Nursing Home Counsel Enters Appearance In Estate’s $50K Negligence, Survival Suit

MEDIA, Pa. — Legal counsel representing a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and related entities entered an appearance in a Pennsylvania state court after the estate of a former resident filed a complaint against them asserting claims for negligence, survival and wrongful death for the defendants’ alleged failure to “timely treat” pneumonia that led to the former resident’s death.
April 11, 2024
Federal Judge Issues Final Forfeiture Order In $38M Nursing Home Fraud Suit

MIAMI — A Florida federal judge issued a final forfeiture order regarding applying the assets of the former owner of skilled nursing facilities to the $38.7 million judgment entered against him for his role in a health care fraud scheme involving bribing physicians to have patients entered into the facilities he owned.
April 10, 2024
Judge Bars Octogenarian’s Counsel For Conduct Violations Related To Foreclosure

ATLANTA — A Georgia federal bankruptcy judge prohibited an attorney and his firm from filing any new bankruptcy cases in that court for 12 months, making the prohibition permanent as to any bankruptcy cases paid for by third parties, finding the sanction appropriate for repeated professional conduct violations as in the instant case where the attorney filed a Chapter 13 petition on behalf of an 80-year old man to stop foreclosure of the man’s home but instead accepted fees from the prospective home purchaser.
April 08, 2024
Parents Respond To Bid For Miss. High Court Review Of Grandchild Visitation Denial

JACKSON, Miss. — Parents of a child who have opposed a grandfather’s bid for visitation with the child urged the Mississippi Supreme Court to deny the grandfather’s petition for a writ of certiorari to review an appellate court’s ruling affirming dismissal of his petition for visitation with his granddaughter.
April 08, 2024
N.H. Federal Jury Rules For Supermarket Worker In Age Discrimination Suit

CONCORD, N.H. — A federal judge in New Hampshire entered a more than $130,000 judgment for a supermarket worker who alleged that he was denied promotion to a full-time position due to his age; the judgment came four days after a jury found that the promotion denial was a willful violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the New Hampshire Law Against Discrimination (NHLAD).
April 04, 2024
Pennsylvania Panel Upholds Decree Awarding Estate Funds To Decedent’s Lenders

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania appellate court on April 3 affirmed a lower court’s decree awarding the balance of a decedent’s estate funds to his ex-wife and her sister, both of whom loaned him money, finding that the evidence in the case establishes that there was an oral contract for loans between the parties.
April 04, 2024
Panel Affirms Ruling Denying Care Home’s Bid For Arbitration, Deems POA Invalid

JACKSON, Tenn. — A Tennessee appellate court affirmed a lower court’s ruling denying a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration in a wrongful death suit, finding that because the decedent lacked the capacity to execute a power of attorney (POA), the arbitration agreement signed by the decedent’s agent pursuant to a health care POA was invalid.
April 03, 2024
9th Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Wire Fraud Elder Abuse Suit Against Chase

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s order dismissing with prejudice a financial elder abuse and negligence suit filed against JPMorgan Chase Bank by a couple who were victims of wire fraud, finding that the plaintiffs failed to allege that Chase had actual knowledge of the fraud and that banks have no implied duty to supervise their customers’ account activity.
April 02, 2024
HP’s $18M Age Bias Class, Collective Settlement Granted Final Approval

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted final approval of an $18 million settlement to be paid by HP Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co. (together, HP) to end a collective and class complaint accusing the technology company of terminating older workers during workforce reductions and replacing them with younger employees in violation of federal and California law, including California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
April 02, 2024
Judge Agrees To Partial Seal In Class Suit Over States’ Understaffed Nursing Homes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal judge granted in part plaintiffs’ motion to conditionally file under seal in a consolidated putative class action against nursing home facilities claiming that understaffing resulted in residents receiving inadequate services, finding that specified exhibits with residents’ personally identifying information must be sealed but that plaintiffs must file a version of the class certification memo “redacting only the personally identifiable information” of residents’ family members.
April 01, 2024
California High Court Affirms Ruling Denying Care Home’s Bid To Compel Arbitration

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court affirmed an appellate court’s judgment upholding a lower court decision denying a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration in an elder abuse and negligence suit filed against the nursing home related to a former resident’s fall and fracture, finding that the arbitration agreement signed by the resident’s agent under a health care power of attorney was not a health care decision within the agent’s authority.
March 29, 2024
Judge Accepts Officials’ Plea Agreements In Veterans Home COVID-19 Death Cases

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A former superintendent and a former medical director of a veterans home entered plea agreements in a Massachusetts state court for their roles in commingling COVID-19-symptomatic residents with asymptomatic residents, leading to 76 deaths, admitting that the charges against them sufficed to make a finding of guilt while agreeing to satisfy court-imposed conditions for three months.
March 28, 2024
Panel Affirms Order Denying Bid To Reopen Discovery In Care Home Negligence Suit

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appellate court on March 27 affirmed lower court orders that denied an estate’s request to reopen discovery and granted a nursing home and related entities’ motion for summary judgment in a negligence suit filed against them, finding that the lower court did not abuse its discretion in holding that the estate failed to show “exceptional circumstances” needed to reopen discovery and that there is “no basis” to overturn the order granting summary judgment.
March 27, 2024
Panel Tosses Appeal Of Order Approving Property Sale In Heirs’ And Buyer’s Dispute

TYLER, Texas — A Texas appellate court on March 26 dismissed heirs’ appeal of a lower court order approving the sale of property they inherited after their father died, finding that the appellate court lacked jurisdiction because the lower court’s order was not a final, appealable order.
March 25, 2024
Alabama High Court Reverses Judgment For Estate In Nursing Home Arbitration Row

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Supreme Court on March 22 reversed and remanded a lower court’s order denying a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration in a wrongful death suit against it alleging that staff neglect led to a former resident’s death, finding that the lower court incorrectly ruled that though one of the decedent’s co-guardians signed an arbitration agreement on her mother’s behalf, both were required to sign the arbitration agreement.
March 25, 2024
Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Wrongful Death Suit Against Care Home As Time-Barred

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland appellate court affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a wrongful death suit against a nursing home whose alleged medical negligence caused the death of a former resident, finding that the trial court correctly determined that the complaint was time-barred.