California Judge Rejects Mistrial Motion in $677M Nursing Home Lawsuit
Published: August 30th, 2010 • No Comments
A judge has rejected a call for a mistrial by a California nursing home chain that got hit by a $677 million nursing home neglect verdict in July. In addition, the court has issued an injunction against the company to force it to meet statewide nursing home staff level requirements immediately.
The motions came on the heels of a head-turning, record verdict handed down in a nursing home class-action lawsuit against Skilled Healthcare earlier this summer. The company is one of the nation’s largest nursing home franchises, with 78 facilities. A Humboldt County jury determined that Skilled Healthcare failed to meet state requirements for nursing home staff, and was staffed at dangerously low levels.
Defense attorneys attempted to get a mistrial, saying that there was bias and juror misconduct. However, jurors signed sworn statements saying there was no misconduct or bias. Skilled Healthcare’s stocks have plummeted in the wake of the decision, and experts say that the company is likely to file for bankruptcy if it is forced to meet the verdict’s requirements, and there does not appear to be any obvious grounds for having the verdict overturned.
Skilled Healthcare attorneys are now trying to have Judge Bruce Watson recused from the case and to have it tried again, according to a story in the Times-Standard.
