AARP Foundation Legal Advocacy Litigation Cases
AARP Foundation Legal Advocacy: Litigation Cases What We Do
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. MarylandDocket:8:22-cv-00707 Read: (PDF), , , to SVP William A. Rivera (Article) Filed: 03/22/2022 Case Issue: Can 5000 current and former pastors, clergy, and other employees of the African Methodist Episcopal Church recover $90 million lost from their retirement accounts due to gross financial mishandling? Case Name: Kwesell v. Yale University
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Conn. Docket: 3:19-cv-01098 Read: (PDF), , Listen/Read, Update: Achieved settlement subject to court approval. Filed: 7/16/2019 Case Issue: Is a wellness program that fines employees $1,300. per year for refusing to reveal medical and genetic information and submit to medical examinations "voluntary" under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Case Name: Fair Housing Justice Center v. Hochul Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. NY (Southern Dist.) Docket: 18-civ-3196 Settlement: 12/22/2021 Read (PDF), (PDF), and (PDF), (PDF), settlement Case Issue: Does a blanket prohibition barring users of wheelchairs from living in Adult Care Facilities regulated and funded through New York State's Department of Health violate the Fair Housing Act, the ADA, and other civil rights laws? Case Name: Stephanie Price v. Shibinette Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. New Hampshire Docket: 21-00025 Decision on Motion to Dismiss: 11/18/2021 Read (PDF), , , on Motion to Dismiss (PDF), on Motion to Dismiss, on Motion Case Issue: Does the failure of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to provide personal care and other services to people with disabilities under the state’s Choices for Independence Waiver program, that puts them at risk of needing to be institutionalized, violate the Americans with Disabilities Act or other federal law? Case Name: Brown v. Becerra Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. CD Cal. Docket: 21-00511 Filed: 1/19/2021 Motion for Summary Judgment: 7/20/2021, Decision 11/17/2021 Read (PDF), , (PDF), (PDF) Case Result: The court granted our request to remand and vacate HHS’s unlawful approval of a California Medicaid state plan amendment that cut reimbursement rates for periodontal care and instituted burdensome and potentially dangerous pre-authorization and x-ray processes for institutionalized patients. Case Name: Shakespeare v. Live Well Financial (consumer)
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. ED N.Y. (U.S. Ct. App. Second Circuit) Docket: 18-7299 (20-3533) Filed in District Court: 12/21/2018 Decision in Appellate Court: 5/26/2021 Read (PDF) and (PDF) , in U.S. Ct. App. 2d Cir. (PDF) Issue in the U.S. District Court ED N.Y.: Did Live Well Financial and Celink violate reverse mortgage contracts and applicable law by prepaying property taxes of older homeowners without legal authority and without notice, and then wrongfully demanding repayment out of personal funds? Case Result from the U.S. Ct. App. Second Circuit: The Second Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of the claims against Celink and remanded the case to the district for further proceedings. The court also affirmed the dismissal of the claims against Reverse Mortgage Funding, LLC. Case Name: Rabin v. PricewaterhouseCoopers
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. ND Cal. Docket: 16-02276 Order for Final Approval of Settlement: 2/4/2021 Read , , , , (PDF) - Bloomberg "Daily Labor Report"
Case Issue: Do PwC's hiring and related employment practices have the purpose and effect of disadvantaging and deterring older applicants for entry- and mid-level jobs, in violation of federal and California age bias laws? Case Name: National Consumer Voice v. Becerra, U.S. Dep't Health and Human Services Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. D.C. Docket: 21-162 Filed: 1/18/2021 Read (PDF), Opening , , (7/28/2021, CMS reversal on penalties) Case Issue: Can CMS and HHS change the structure of enforcement by imposing only per instance fines instead of per day fines for nursing facilities who violate the Nursing Home Reform Act but correct that noncompliance prior to state survey agencies reviewing their compliance? Case Name: Chancellor Senior Management v. McGraw
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Docket: 20-0794 Filed: 11/6/2020 Case Issue: Did the lower court err in denying Chancellor's Motion to Compel Arbitration? Are arbitration provisions incorporated into the residency agreement of an assisted living facility resident enforceable despite their noncompliance with the AHLA rules designated to govern them?
Case Name: Hartshorne v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York
Court: New York Supreme Ct., Schenectady County Docket: 2019-1989 Filed: 9/10/2019 Motion to Dismiss Decided: 7/15/2020 Read (PDF), , (PDF), (PDF) D on Motion (PDF) and on Motion, on Appeal (PDF), on Appeal Case Issue: Did the Defendants, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, violate New York state laws concerning contracts, promises, and fiduciaries when they either stopped paying or drastically reduced the pensions of former employees of St. Clare's Hospital? Case Name: Brookdale Senior Living v. Weir
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. WD North Carolina Docket: 20-00293 Filed: 5/26/2020 Read (PDF) and Case Issue: Does the arbitration agreement signed by Jean Howard, a former resident of a Brookdale Senior Living facility, allow for class-wide arbitration? And does the agreement require this question to be decided by an arbitrator, instead of a judge?
Case Name: Gunza v. Brookdale Senior Living
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. MD Tenn. Docket: 20-00353 Filed: 4/24/2020 Read (PDF) and Case Issue: Did Brookdale deceive class members in violation of state consumer protection statutes when it promised to provide care based on residents' assessed care needs but, in reality, provided care based on pre-determined profit goals set by the company's headquarters? Case Name: Bright v. Brookdale Senior Living
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. EMD Tenn Docket: 19-cv-00374 AARP Joined: 8/14/2019 Read (PDF) Case Issue: Did Brookdale deceive class members in violation of state consumer protection statutes when it promised to provide care based on residents' assessed care needs but, in reality, provided care based on pre-determined profit goals set by the company's headquarters? Case Name: Brown v. District of Columbia Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. D.C. Docket: 10-02250 Filed: 8/13/2019 Case Update: (PDF) filed March 9, 2022 Case Issue: Does the District of Columbia have an adequate Olmstead plan in place? If not, is it unreasonable for the Court to demand that it provide transition services to all people in nursing facilities who want to move to the community and make public report about its commitment to deinstitutionalize nursing facility residents? Case Name: Brown v. District of Columbia
Court: U.S. Ct. App. D.C. Cir. Docket: 17-7152 Decided: 7/5/2019 Read (PDF), PDF) and (PDF) Case Result: The D.C. Circuit Court found that the lower court erred by not requiring that D.C. prove that it cannot place Plaintiff class into the community from nursing facilities. The case was remanded to the trial court where D.C. must now prove that it has an effectively working Olmstead plan or prove that it cannot reasonably serve our client in the community.
Case Name: Gish (Matter of the Estate) v. Wells Fargo Bank
Court: New Mexico State Ct., Santa Fe Cty. Docket: D-101-PB-2015-00006 Read (PDF) (PDF) (PDF)
AARP Joined as Co-Counsel: 6/21/2018 Case Issue: Did Wells Fargo violate state and federal law when it originated a reverse mortgage loan that cost a borrower more than the loan for which the applicant applied and was approved; did Wells Fargo have standing to foreclose on the loan? Case Name: McGraw v. Chancellor Senior Management, LTD Court: Circuit Ct., Raleigh County, WV Docket: 16-C-698 AARP Joined Case: 10/16/2017 Read (PDF) Case Issue: Are Chancellor's practices of marketing certain levels of services, assessing care needs at admission, and charging fees based on those needs; but then, failing to have sufficient staff to actually meet those needs unfair or deceptive acts or practices under West Virginia's consumer protection statute? Case Name: Raymond v. Spirit AeroSystems
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Kansas Docket: 16-cv-01282 Filed: 7/11/2016 Read and Case Issue: In conducting a reduction-in-force, did the aerospace company target older workers in the hope of eliminating individuals with costly medical claims from the firm's self-insured medical plan?
Current Docket Litigation Cases
Case Name: John Doe #1, et al. v. Alden Group Ltd, et al. Court: Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois Docket: 2022-CH-09574 Filed: 9/27/2022 Read: , (PDF), (Article) Case Issue: Does the Alden Group and its facilities neglect residents and put them at risk of harm by failing to provide care that meets the residents’ needs through systematic and intentional understaffing in violation of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act? Case Name: Jones v. Austin Industries Court: EEOC Charge No.: 2022-440-07338 Filed: 7/18/2022 Read: (AARP), (Reuters) Case Issue: Does Austin’s wellness program, which imposing an insurance surcharge of up to $2400 per year for nonparticipation, violate Americans with Disabilities Act and Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act requirements that such programs be voluntary? Case Name: Single v. Catholic Pioneer Church Homes Court: Superior Ct., State of Cal., County of Sacramento Docket: 2017-00220058 Order: 04/19/2022 Read (4/15/2021), , Original , (PDF), (4/19/2022) "Her Son Says She Was a Victim of Nursing Home Dumping," by Jessica Ravitz, the case story about Gloria Single. Case Issue: Can a nursing facility refuse to readmit a resident who has exercised her administrative due process rights and won the right to readmission? Case Name: Alexander v. HarrisCourt: U.S. Dist. Ct. MarylandDocket:8:22-cv-00707 Read: (PDF), , , to SVP William A. Rivera (Article) Filed: 03/22/2022 Case Issue: Can 5000 current and former pastors, clergy, and other employees of the African Methodist Episcopal Church recover $90 million lost from their retirement accounts due to gross financial mishandling? Case Name: Kwesell v. Yale University
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Conn. Docket: 3:19-cv-01098 Read: (PDF), , Listen/Read, Update: Achieved settlement subject to court approval. Filed: 7/16/2019 Case Issue: Is a wellness program that fines employees $1,300. per year for refusing to reveal medical and genetic information and submit to medical examinations "voluntary" under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Case Name: Fair Housing Justice Center v. Hochul Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. NY (Southern Dist.) Docket: 18-civ-3196 Settlement: 12/22/2021 Read (PDF), (PDF), and (PDF), (PDF), settlement Case Issue: Does a blanket prohibition barring users of wheelchairs from living in Adult Care Facilities regulated and funded through New York State's Department of Health violate the Fair Housing Act, the ADA, and other civil rights laws? Case Name: Stephanie Price v. Shibinette Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. New Hampshire Docket: 21-00025 Decision on Motion to Dismiss: 11/18/2021 Read (PDF), , , on Motion to Dismiss (PDF), on Motion to Dismiss, on Motion Case Issue: Does the failure of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to provide personal care and other services to people with disabilities under the state’s Choices for Independence Waiver program, that puts them at risk of needing to be institutionalized, violate the Americans with Disabilities Act or other federal law? Case Name: Brown v. Becerra Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. CD Cal. Docket: 21-00511 Filed: 1/19/2021 Motion for Summary Judgment: 7/20/2021, Decision 11/17/2021 Read (PDF), , (PDF), (PDF) Case Result: The court granted our request to remand and vacate HHS’s unlawful approval of a California Medicaid state plan amendment that cut reimbursement rates for periodontal care and instituted burdensome and potentially dangerous pre-authorization and x-ray processes for institutionalized patients. Case Name: Shakespeare v. Live Well Financial (consumer)
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. ED N.Y. (U.S. Ct. App. Second Circuit) Docket: 18-7299 (20-3533) Filed in District Court: 12/21/2018 Decision in Appellate Court: 5/26/2021 Read (PDF) and (PDF) , in U.S. Ct. App. 2d Cir. (PDF) Issue in the U.S. District Court ED N.Y.: Did Live Well Financial and Celink violate reverse mortgage contracts and applicable law by prepaying property taxes of older homeowners without legal authority and without notice, and then wrongfully demanding repayment out of personal funds? Case Result from the U.S. Ct. App. Second Circuit: The Second Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of the claims against Celink and remanded the case to the district for further proceedings. The court also affirmed the dismissal of the claims against Reverse Mortgage Funding, LLC. Case Name: Rabin v. PricewaterhouseCoopers
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. ND Cal. Docket: 16-02276 Order for Final Approval of Settlement: 2/4/2021 Read , , , , (PDF) - Bloomberg "Daily Labor Report"
Case Issue: Do PwC's hiring and related employment practices have the purpose and effect of disadvantaging and deterring older applicants for entry- and mid-level jobs, in violation of federal and California age bias laws? Case Name: National Consumer Voice v. Becerra, U.S. Dep't Health and Human Services Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. D.C. Docket: 21-162 Filed: 1/18/2021 Read (PDF), Opening , , (7/28/2021, CMS reversal on penalties) Case Issue: Can CMS and HHS change the structure of enforcement by imposing only per instance fines instead of per day fines for nursing facilities who violate the Nursing Home Reform Act but correct that noncompliance prior to state survey agencies reviewing their compliance? Case Name: Chancellor Senior Management v. McGraw
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Docket: 20-0794 Filed: 11/6/2020 Case Issue: Did the lower court err in denying Chancellor's Motion to Compel Arbitration? Are arbitration provisions incorporated into the residency agreement of an assisted living facility resident enforceable despite their noncompliance with the AHLA rules designated to govern them?
Case Name: Hartshorne v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York
Court: New York Supreme Ct., Schenectady County Docket: 2019-1989 Filed: 9/10/2019 Motion to Dismiss Decided: 7/15/2020 Read (PDF), , (PDF), (PDF) D on Motion (PDF) and on Motion, on Appeal (PDF), on Appeal Case Issue: Did the Defendants, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, violate New York state laws concerning contracts, promises, and fiduciaries when they either stopped paying or drastically reduced the pensions of former employees of St. Clare's Hospital? Case Name: Brookdale Senior Living v. Weir
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. WD North Carolina Docket: 20-00293 Filed: 5/26/2020 Read (PDF) and Case Issue: Does the arbitration agreement signed by Jean Howard, a former resident of a Brookdale Senior Living facility, allow for class-wide arbitration? And does the agreement require this question to be decided by an arbitrator, instead of a judge?
Case Name: Gunza v. Brookdale Senior Living
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. MD Tenn. Docket: 20-00353 Filed: 4/24/2020 Read (PDF) and Case Issue: Did Brookdale deceive class members in violation of state consumer protection statutes when it promised to provide care based on residents' assessed care needs but, in reality, provided care based on pre-determined profit goals set by the company's headquarters? Case Name: Bright v. Brookdale Senior Living
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. EMD Tenn Docket: 19-cv-00374 AARP Joined: 8/14/2019 Read (PDF) Case Issue: Did Brookdale deceive class members in violation of state consumer protection statutes when it promised to provide care based on residents' assessed care needs but, in reality, provided care based on pre-determined profit goals set by the company's headquarters? Case Name: Brown v. District of Columbia Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. D.C. Docket: 10-02250 Filed: 8/13/2019 Case Update: (PDF) filed March 9, 2022 Case Issue: Does the District of Columbia have an adequate Olmstead plan in place? If not, is it unreasonable for the Court to demand that it provide transition services to all people in nursing facilities who want to move to the community and make public report about its commitment to deinstitutionalize nursing facility residents? Case Name: Brown v. District of Columbia
Court: U.S. Ct. App. D.C. Cir. Docket: 17-7152 Decided: 7/5/2019 Read (PDF), PDF) and (PDF) Case Result: The D.C. Circuit Court found that the lower court erred by not requiring that D.C. prove that it cannot place Plaintiff class into the community from nursing facilities. The case was remanded to the trial court where D.C. must now prove that it has an effectively working Olmstead plan or prove that it cannot reasonably serve our client in the community.
Case Name: Gish (Matter of the Estate) v. Wells Fargo Bank
Court: New Mexico State Ct., Santa Fe Cty. Docket: D-101-PB-2015-00006 Read (PDF) (PDF) (PDF)
AARP Joined as Co-Counsel: 6/21/2018 Case Issue: Did Wells Fargo violate state and federal law when it originated a reverse mortgage loan that cost a borrower more than the loan for which the applicant applied and was approved; did Wells Fargo have standing to foreclose on the loan? Case Name: McGraw v. Chancellor Senior Management, LTD Court: Circuit Ct., Raleigh County, WV Docket: 16-C-698 AARP Joined Case: 10/16/2017 Read (PDF) Case Issue: Are Chancellor's practices of marketing certain levels of services, assessing care needs at admission, and charging fees based on those needs; but then, failing to have sufficient staff to actually meet those needs unfair or deceptive acts or practices under West Virginia's consumer protection statute? Case Name: Raymond v. Spirit AeroSystems
Court: U.S. Dist. Ct. Kansas Docket: 16-cv-01282 Filed: 7/11/2016 Read and Case Issue: In conducting a reduction-in-force, did the aerospace company target older workers in the hope of eliminating individuals with costly medical claims from the firm's self-insured medical plan?