Monday, March 16, 2009

Lawsuit Thrown Out

A federal court threw out a lawsuit against nursing home chain Extendicare, ruling that the plaintiffs' allegations were not specific enough to form an actionable claim.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in October, alleged that Extendicare overstated the quality of its services in pamphlets and promotional materials, thereby luring elderly residents into their facilities. According to the complaint, however, once residents arrived there, they found that the service what it was cracked up to be. The suit was filed on behalf of lead plaintiff Laura Bernstein, and defined a class consisting of "all residents who lived in a Minnesota Extendicare facility from Oct. 29, 2002 through Oct. 29, 2008."

Full Article and Source:
Extendicare Suit Tossed for Vagueness

More information:
Federal Court Throws Out Class Action Lawsuit Against Extendicare

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We might as well fact it, nursing homes will never be cleaned up. They've got too many connections and too deep of pockets.

Anonymous said...

My understanding of Federal Rule 8 is that you don't have to plead with specificity except in cases of fraud. Rule 23 - class actions - doesn't ask for much more by way of specificity in an initial pleading.

If the lawyering was lousy, the judge was still wrong in prohibiting the plaintiffs from refiling with amended counts!

That smells like a fix!

We know how well nursing homes are connected to the pols, and we've heard of judges with interests in nursing homes, too!

Sounds like that judge should not be on the bench.

Anonymous said...

Well, this is a clear message folks, get your cameras and audio equipment ready for your undercover operation.

The judge wants specific proof give it to him!

Anonymous said...

This decision throws us back into the dark ages.

Anonymous said...

Pity all of us when it comes our "turn" to go into a nursing home.