A recent court decision has upheld the denial of a motion to compel arbitration in a case involving multiple wrongful deaths at a skilled nursing facility. The complaint, filed by Nancy Hearden and others in the Shasta County Superior Court on June 28, 2024, names Windsor Redding Care Center, LLC, and its associated entities as defendants.
The case centers around the tragic deaths of Arthur Trenerry, Danny White, Charmaine Tappen, and Ada Riggs in 2020 due to COVID-19 while they were residents at Windsor Redding Care Center. Family members of the deceased sued the facility and its alleged alter egos—Shlomo Rechnitz, Brius Management Co., Brius, LLC, Lee Samson, and S&F Management Company—asserting claims of elder abuse, negligence, violation of the Patient’s Bill of Rights (Health & Safety Code § 1430), unfair business practices, wrongful death, and fraud.
The defendants sought to compel arbitration based on agreements signed by family members rather than the decedents themselves. However, the trial court found that there was no evidence these family members had authority to sign on behalf of the decedents. Specifically, it was noted that Johanna Trenerry (Arthur's wife), Damon White (Danny's son), Charles Balding (Charmaine's son), and Leon Riggs (Ada's husband) had signed arbitration agreements without proper authorization from the decedents. Furthermore, these agreements did not bind them individually regarding their wrongful death claims.
In particular for Ada Riggs' case, although her husband Leon had a durable power of attorney for her health care decisions and signed an arbitration agreement on her behalf, the trial court exercised its discretion under Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.2(c) to deny arbitration to avoid conflicting rulings between Ada’s survivor claims and her sons’ wrongful death claims.
The defendants argued that the trial court erred in denying their motion to compel arbitration. They contended that family members' signatures should be sufficient to establish agency authority and that equitable estoppel or unclean hands doctrines should apply. However, upon review by the Court of Appeal of California’s Third Appellate District (Case No. C098736), it was determined that there was no substantial evidence showing actual or ostensible agency relationships between the decedents and their family members who signed the agreements.
The plaintiffs are seeking relief from damages resulting from what they allege were systemic failures at Windsor Redding Care Center leading to inadequate care during a critical time when COVID-19 posed severe risks to elderly residents. They claim violations under several laws including elder abuse statutes and consumer protection laws.
Representing this complex case are attorneys whose expertise spans elder law and civil litigation against healthcare providers accused of neglectful practices. The presiding judges in this appellate decision were Justices Mauro (authoring opinion), Hull (Acting Presiding Justice), and Robie.