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

Mealey's Elder Law

October 31, 2023
Plaintiff Wins Interpretation Dispute In Long-Term Care Insurance Benefits Row

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Montana federal judge on Oct. 30 granted partial summary judgment for the plaintiff in a suit over long-term care insurance benefits, concluding “narrowly” that the policy rider at issue “does not categorically exclude coverage for care provided by a family member” and also ruling that one defendant is bound by that interpretation because of a reinsurance agreement.
October 30, 2023
Pennsylvania Panel Affirms Order Probating Will, Says No Undue Influence Shown

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania appellate court on Oct. 27 affirmed a lower court order admitting a will to probate, finding that the decedent’s daughter challenging the will failed to establish the existence of undue influence because she did not provide evidence showing that the “Decedent suffered from a weakened intellect.”
October 27, 2023
Panel Says Son Agreed To Arbitrate Individual Claims In Care Home Negligence Suit

LOS ANGELES — A California appellate court affirmed in part a lower court order denying a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration in a reckless neglect suit against it regarding the death of a former resident but reversed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration of individual claims filed by a son who signed the arbitration agreement, finding that though the son lacked authority to sign on his father’s behalf, by signing in his individual capacity the son agreed to arbitrate “certain nonrepresentative claims.”
October 26, 2023
Texas Panel Says It Lacks Jurisdiction Over Appeal Of Son’s Will Contest

SAN ANTONIO — A Texas appellate court on Oct. 25 dismissed co-executors’ appeal of a lower court’s order denying their motion to dismiss claims contesting a will filed by a decedent’s son, finding that the lower court’s order was interlocutory and, therefore, unappealable because it did not resolve the son’s will contest.
October 25, 2023
Kentucky Appeals Court: Experts In Elder Negligence Care Case Properly Excluded

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Experts retained by a family that sued their mother’s care facility for negligence were unqualified to opine on the standard of care or medical causation, a Kentucky appeals court found, ruling that summary judgment for the facility was appropriate.
October 25, 2023
9th Circuit Denies Rehearing In LTC Coverage Dispute Between Insureds And Insurer

SAN FRANCISCO — A majority of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 24 voted to deny rehearing of a decision affirming a district court’s order granting summary judgment to a long-term care (LTC) insurer sued by its insureds over the insurer’s purported failure to cover all benefits due under two policies.
October 24, 2023
$3.86M Fee Awarded In Final OK Of ERISA Settlement In SAG-AFTRA Plan Row

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge gave final approval to a class settlement of a suit against the SAG-AFTRA Health Fund and related entities over benefit cuts and a merger but awarded only $3,862,500 of the $6,866,667 in attorney fees that the plaintiffs requested.
October 23, 2023
Michigan Panel Remands, Tells ALJ To Review Trust Terms In LTC Eligibility Dispute

DETROIT — A Michigan appeals court affirmed in part a lower court’s decision reversing an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) denial of a nursing home resident’s application for long-term care (LTC) Medicaid benefits, finding that while the lower court correctly reversed the ALJ’s decision, it incorrectly determined that a supplemental care trust should not be considered in a Medicaid-eligibility determination because it was created under a will.
October 20, 2023
ERISA Settlement With $7.2M Fund, Medical And Dental Coverage Wins Final Approval

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A New York federal judge on Oct. 19 granted final approval to a class settlement of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case against Xerox Corp. and related entities that includes a $7,225,000 settlement fund, premium-free medical coverage for some class members and reduced-premium dental coverage, with class counsel getting $1,300,500.
October 19, 2023
DOJ Releases Annual Report To Congress On Efforts To Combat Elder Fraud And Abuse

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Oct. 18 released to Congress its fifth annual report on its efforts to combat elder fraud and abuse, highlighting its criminal and civil actions and collaborative efforts with state, local and tribal partners to share best practices and training and provide them with grant funding.
October 19, 2023
9th Circuit Affirms Ruling For Fair Housing Advocate In Suit Against Nursing Home

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s ruling in favor of a nonprofit that advocates to stop housing discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Arizona Fair Housing Act, finding that the nonprofit had standing to sue and seek injunctive relief against a nursing home that allegedly refused to provide an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter to a fictitious prospective resident and that “[t]he punitive damages award was not constitutionally excessive.”
October 17, 2023
Panel: Signing Arbitration Agreement Not Health Care Decision In Care Home Suit

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Kentucky appellate court affirmed a lower court’s order denying a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration in a widow’s negligence suit against it, finding that though signing the mandatory arbitration agreement was necessary for treatment at the nursing home and the widow had the authority under Kentucky law to make health care decisions for her husband, her entering into an arbitration agreement on her husband’s behalf was not a health care decision.
October 17, 2023
2nd Circuit: No Conversion In Case Of 1st Impression Over FCA Medicare Payments

NEW YORK — In a case of first impression on interlocutory appeal, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 reversed and remanded a district court decision denying dismissal to a parent company and its affiliated hospital and nursing home in a qui tam suit alleging violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) related to submitting Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement claims without disclosing alleged unlawful conversions, finding that federal law is not violated when the recipient of a “payment is under no obligation to utilize the funds in any particular way.”
October 16, 2023
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari In 2nd Challenge To Chevron Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 13 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in a second case challenging the doctrine of Chevron deference and ordered that it be briefed on a schedule allowing argument “in tandem” with a pending case pertaining to the same issue, both of which involve challenges to regulations that require fishing vessels to pay federal monitors.
October 16, 2023
High Court Denies Cert To Nursing Home Seeking Reversal Of COVID Suit Remand

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 16 denied a nursing home’s petition for certiorari seeking to reverse a remand to state court of an elder abuse and negligence suit against it for complications allegedly related to a resident contracting COVID-19 on grounds that the state law negligence claims are preempted by the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act.
October 13, 2023
Panel Affirms Order Deeming Joint Accounts Of Convenience Part Of Estate

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin court of appeals on Oct. 12 affirmed a lower court order granting judgment to an estate seeking a declaration that two joint accounts held by a decedent and his daughter belong to the estate, finding that the trial court’s determination that the deceased “intended to create accounts of convenience with no right of survivorship” for the daughter “is not clearly erroneous.”
October 13, 2023
EEOC Announces Pharma Companies Will Pay $2.4M To End Age Bias Class Case

INDIANAPOLIS — Lilly USA LLC and its parent company, Eli Lilly and Co., will pay $2.4 million and provide other relief to settle a class case in a federal court in Indiana alleging that the two companies failed to hire older pharmaceutical sales representatives, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Oct. 12.
October 13, 2023
Judgment Reversed In Dispute Over Jury Charges In Inter Vivos Property Transfer

ATLANTA — A Georgia appellate court reversed and remanded a trial court’s judgment for an estate seeking to cancel a quitclaim deed for real property, finding that the trial court’s failure to properly instruct the jury as to inter vivos gifts unfairly prejudiced the recipient of the property.
October 12, 2023
Judgment Granted To Executor In Interpleader Row Over Life Insurance Beneficiaries

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — An Indiana federal judge granted summary judgment to an estate executor in an interpleader dispute over whether the proceeds of a life insurance policy should be paid out to the estate, finding that because the decedent “properly changed the beneficiary of her life insurance policy to her Estate before she died,” the payout must be made to the estate.
October 11, 2023
Panel Affirms Denial Of Grandparent Visitation In Kenya, Cites Lack Of Standing

LINCOLN, Neb. — A Nebraska court of appeals panel on Oct. 10 affirmed a lower court’s order denying a woman’s request to take her children to Kenya for visitation with their maternal grandparents, finding in part that the woman lacks standing to seek visitation on behalf of her parents.
October 06, 2023
Panel Tosses Appeal Of Order Denying Care Home Dismissal In Negligence Suit

BEAUMONT, Texas — A Texas appellate court dismissed a nursing home’s appeal of a lower court’s order denying its motion for summary judgment and dismissal in a negligence suit filed against it by the estate of a woman alleging that treatment she received at the nursing home fell below the appropriate standard of care, finding that the order from which the nursing home “appeals is an unappealable interlocutory order.”
October 05, 2023
Mississippi Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Grandfather’s Bid To Visit Granddaughter

JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi appellate court affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a grandfather’s petition for visitation with his granddaughter, finding that the lower court did not err in finding that the child’s parents “acted reasonably in withholding visitation.”
October 05, 2023
Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Rehab That Employed Nurse Charged With Homicide

PITTSBURGH — The son of a former rehabilitation facility resident filed a wrongful death and negligence suit against the facility after a nurse employed there was charged with criminal homicide related to insulin overdose deaths at a facility where she previously worked, asserting, in part, that the rehab facility’s negligent failure to conduct a background check of the nurse led to the resident’s death.
October 03, 2023
DOJ Argues Segregation Shows Injury In Putative Class Suit Over ADA Violations

BOSTON — In response to Massachusetts state officials’ partial motion to dismiss nursing home residents’ putative class action against them in a Massachusetts federal court alleging that state nursing homes are segregating residents with disabilities in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a second statement of interest, asserting that “unnecessary institutionalization is an injury in fact under the ADA.”
October 03, 2023
Judgment Denied In Suit Against Care Home For Failure To Provide Safe Conditions

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge denied in part an assisted living facility’s motion for summary judgment in a suit alleging that it breached the contract of a former resident, in part, by failing to provide her with safe conditions, for its purported failure to respond to her urgent requests for assistance, finding that the woman’s failure to pay the required fees to the facility pursuant to the contract does not prevent her from recovering from the alleged breaches.