Time’s Up: Hospital Waives Right to Compel Arbitration After Year’s Delay
The California Court of Appeal for the Second District affirmed a trial court’s order denying a hospital’s motion to compel arbitration with a former physician. The physician, a vocal critic of the hospital, was removed from the hospital’s teaching program and had his automatically renewing teaching contract terminated. Despite knowing the contract had a provision that could compel arbitration, the hospital waited over a year and actively litigated several claims before seeking to compel arbitration. The court found this delay and extensive use of judicial processes showed a clear waiver of the right to arbitrate under California law. Ali v. Dignity Health
Court Confirms Hard Time for Physician and Spouse
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the convictions of a physician and his spouse for conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and health care fraud, rejecting their claim that they acted in good faith based on compliance and legal advice. The physician led a cognitive care program overseeing his wife, who held a Ph.D. in neuroscience but wasn’t licensed or credentialed to practice medicine. Based on compliance and legal advice, it was initially believed the wife could test and diagnose patients, and bill for those services under the physician’s provider identification number under the “incident-to” billing rules. However, after discovery that this billing was improper, warnings, and internal reviews, the couple continued billing fraudulently, misrepresented the wife’s role, and concealed her lack of credentials. The court found sufficient evidence of intentional deception and ruled that reliance on flawed interpretations of the law by the compliance officer and legal counsel did not negate criminal intent. United States v. Jenkins
No Extra Hour for Allegations: Court Dismisses Nurse’s Claims
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida dismissed a nurse’s claims against her former hospital employer. The nurse had worked for only one week at the hospital, during which she encountered scheduling issues, reported numerous patient care issues, alleged various violations, and was accused of possible drug diversion which resulted in a report to the state. The nurse quit and filed multiple claims, including breach of contract and retaliation. The court found the hospital was protected by statutory immunity for good faith reporting, and the nurse failed to show malice. It also ruled the hospital’s Non-Retaliation Policy wasn’t a binding contract and that her whistleblower claims lacked specific factual support. Leuzzi v. Fawcett Memorial Hospital, Inc.