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

Mealey's Elder Law

February 12, 2024
Order Compelling Arbitration Reversed For COVID Death Claims Against Care Home

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois appellate court reversed in part and remanded a lower court’s order compelling arbitration in an estate administrator’s suit against a nursing home after a former resident contracted COVID-19 and died, finding that the claims under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act cannot be arbitrated because the beneficiaries of the estate did not consent to arbitration.
February 12, 2024
Calif. High Court Affirms, OKs Trust Modification Per Revocation Methods In Estate Row

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court affirmed an appellate court judgment determining that a woman’s 2018 amendment to her trust that disinherited her niece is valid, finding that a trust may be modified using California probate law procedures for revocation unless the trust “expressly” provides otherwise.
February 08, 2024
Panel Deems Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable In Nursing Home Neglect Suit

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas appellate court on Feb. 7 affirmed a lower court order denying a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration in a medical negligence suit against it by the estate of a woman who died after sustaining injuries at the nursing home, finding that the lower court correctly held that the arbitration agreement lacked “mutuality of contract” because the facility could sue for unpaid fees in court while claims for medical negligence are subject to arbitration.
February 07, 2024
Judge Dismisses FCA Claims Against Rehab Facilities Accused Of Medicare Fraud

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge on Feb. 6 dismissed claims against skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) alleged to have violated the federal False Claims Act (FCA) regarding Medicare and Medicaid fraud related to billing for rehabilitative therapy that was purportedly not provided, finding that claims in the amended complaint failed to “cure the deficiencies” of the previous complaint.
February 06, 2024
Panel Affirms, Says No Undue Influence In Trust Amendment Disinheriting Son

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California appeals court on Feb. 5 affirmed a lower court order determining that a woman had the mental capacity and was not unduly influenced by her children who were co-trustees when she amended her trust to eliminate a distribution to one of her sons, finding that the disinherited son failed to show a connection between the purported misrepresentations by the co-trustees and the amendment that eliminated the distribution to him.
February 06, 2024
Judge Denies Dismissal In Estate’s Suit Seeking Benefits Of 2 $5M STOLI Policies

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Connecticut federal judge denied dismissal motions filed by a bank acting as securities intermediary for two $5 million stranger-originated life-insurance (STOLI) policies and a limited partnership and beneficial owner of the policies in an estate’s suit seeking to recover death benefits, finding that the estate’s pleadings sufficed to show that the bank acted under the direction of the partnership to maintain the policies for the partnership’s benefit.
February 05, 2024
Panel: Senior Challenging $52,000 Solar Panel Loan Not Required To Arbitrate

FRESNO, Calif. — A California appellate panel affirmed a judge’s refusal to compel arbitration of a senior citizen’s lawsuit against a solar panel installation company and an affiliated lending company for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws, finding that no valid arbitration agreement was entered and that the woman did not appear to have signed or understood that she had entered a $52,000 loan contract.
February 02, 2024
Judge Sets Date For Change Of Plea After Deal Reached In $38M Care Home Fraud Case

MIAMI — After being advised that a plea agreement had been reached, a Florida federal judge on Feb. 1 issued docket-only orders setting a date for a sentencing and change of plea hearing for a man convicted of fraud, bribery and money laundering in a $38.7 million health care fraud scheme involving bribing physicians to have patients entered into the assisted living and skilled nursing facilities he owned.
February 02, 2024
Massachusetts Panel Vacates Judgment For Rehab Facility In Wrongful Death Suit

BOSTON — A Massachusetts appeals court on Feb. 1 vacated a lower court’s judgment for a rehabilitation facility and reversed the lower court’s order allowing the facility’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the jury verdict and granting a new trial in a wrongful death suit, finding that the lower court incorrectly determined “that the erroneous admission” of the issuance of a statement of deficiency against the facility was prejudicial without determining whether the admission merited a new trial.
February 01, 2024
Panel Affirms Restraining Order In Elder Abuse Suit Over Deed Transfer To Daughter

SAN FRANCISCO — A California appellate court affirmed in part a lower court ruling issuing restraining orders against a daughter accused of elder abuse regarding “tricking” her mother into signing a deed conveying her house to the daughter, finding that the restraining orders are affirmed except for the portion requiring the daughter to stay away from the property because the lower court lacked the authority to exclude the daughter from the property she owned.
January 31, 2024
Panel Affirms Order Granting Judgment To Annuity Insurer In Breach Of Contract Row

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — An Ohio appellate court affirmed a lower court’s decision granting summary judgment to a life insurer in a breach of contract suit alleging that the insurer was complicit in alleged fraudulent transfers made from a decedent’s annuity accounts by his son, finding that the decedent’s daughter and grandson failed to provide evidence that the insurer committed breach of contract.
January 30, 2024
Long-Term Care Insurer Files Disclosure In Coverage Suit Over Health Care Expenses

PHILADELPHIA — American General Life Insurance Co. on Jan. 29 filed a corporate disclosure statement in a Pennsylvania federal court after removing to that court a breach of contract suit filed by a woman seeking coverage for past and future home health and long-term care expenses when the insurer denied her claims upon determining that she was no longer chronically ill.
January 30, 2024
5th Circuit: Cancer Center’s Federal Funding Doesn’t Waive Immunity In Age Bias Suit

NEW ORLEANS — A cancer center’s acceptance of federal funding doesn’t waive its sovereign immunity as an arm of Texas, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Jan. 29 in a three-page per curiam opinion, reversing a trial court’s denial of the center’s dismissal motion in an age bias suit by a former employee and remanding with instructions to dismiss.
January 30, 2024
Counsel In Probate Action Faces Sanctions For Possible AI Misuse

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Probate counsel’s possible reliance on generative artificial intelligence isn’t problematic, but the fact that the lawyer didn’t take the simple steps required to confirm the accuracy of the material cited in a reply brief is, a judge in New York said in striking a pleading and setting a hearing for possible sanctions.
January 26, 2024
Wrongful Death Suit Over Deadly Alligator Filed Against Florida 55-Plus Community

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The personal representative of the estate of a resident of a Florida retirement community on Jan. 25 filed a wrongful death suit against the company operating the community in a Florida state court, asserting that the woman’s death from an alligator attack near her home resulted from the company’s negligence in failing to warn of the danger caused by alligators or to remove them.
January 26, 2024
7th Circuit Denies US Foods Rehearing After Age Bias Ruling For Employee

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc filed by US Foods Inc. after a panel reversed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling for the employer in an age discrimination case and found that the employee “presented significant evidence to establish an inference of discrimination.”
January 25, 2024
Plaintiffs Make Class Certification Arguments In DUFTA Row Involving Insurer

WILMINGTON, Del. — Asserting that their Delaware Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (DUFTA) claims “focus exclusively on Defendants’ conduct and circumstances,” policyholders and agents challenging an alleged scheme to strip capital from an insurance subsidiary on which more than 1 million policyholders depend for long-term care (LTC) disability benefits urged the Delaware Chancery Court to certify their proposed class.
January 24, 2024
Appeals Court: No Error In Medical Expert Exclusion In Nursing Home Care Case

CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said it’s “not a close call” that an expert retained to testify in medical malpractice suit against a nursing home failed to establish a “familiarity with the standard of medical care in Memphis” and found no error in a district court excluding his testimony.
January 19, 2024
Judgment Issued For Credit Union In Dispute With Heir Over Digital Account Access

GREENBELT, Md. — A Maryland federal magistrate judge granted summary judgment to a credit union in an heir’s suit against it alleging violations of federal and state law when denying him digital access to a decedent’s accounts, finding that there is no dispute regarding the fact that the heir failed to show his entitlement to access to the accounts under federal or state law.
January 19, 2024
3rd Circuit Affirms In Beneficiary And Guardian’s Row Over Estate’s Life Policy

PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 18 affirmed a district court’s order granting summary judgment to the beneficiary of a life insurance policy in an insurer’s interpleader action regarding whether the policy proceeds belong to the guardian of the decedent’s estate or to the policy’s beneficiary, finding that pursuant to Pennsylvania law, a guardian lacks the power to surrender an insurance policy.
January 17, 2024
High Court Told ‘Chaos’ Will Ensue ‘In A World Without Chevron’ Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court was told Jan. 17 that “chaos” will ensue “in a world without Chevron” deference by government attorneys, who urged it to apply stare decisis and uphold Chevron, which is being challenged in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations.
January 18, 2024
South Carolina High Court Says Estate Fraud Suit Barred By Federal Court Rulings

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Jan. 17 ruled that an estate representative’s fraud and breach of contract claims against Bank of America related to insurance premiums charged to decedents for their line of credit are barred by rulings of a federal district court and the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that equitable tolling did not apply to the statute of limitations.
January 18, 2024
New Jersey High Court Issues Judgment For Care Home In Class Fee Refund Dispute

TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed and remanded a lower court’s order denying dismissal of a claim in a class action against a nursing home for violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) regarding an entrance fee refund if a resident died or moved out, finding that a refund of 90% of the entrance fee is not merited because the referenced CFA provision applies only to food-related fraud.
January 17, 2024
N.Y. Panel Affirms Order Denying Judgment In Row Over Wrongful Hospice Admission

NEW YORK — A New York state appellate court affirmed a lower court’s order denying a medical practice, hospital and physician’s summary judgment motion in a medical malpractice suit related to a man’s purported wrongful admission into hospice for stage IV pancreatic cancer when he actually did not have pancreatic cancer, finding that the hospital and related parties failed to show that they did not depart from accepted standards of care or that any purported departure did not cause the man’s injuries.
January 17, 2024
Panel Affirms Judgment For Decedent’s Brother In Will Contest Over Undue Influence

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota appeals court on Jan. 16 affirmed a lower court’s order granting summary judgment to a decedent’s brother in a suit filed by the decedent’s daughter seeking an adjudication of intestacy, finding that the evidence shows that the decedent was not unduly influenced and had the capacity to execute a will leaving her estate to her brother instead of her children.