Legal News

Mistrial in Skilled Healthcare trial denied

By Richard Binder

Humboldt County Judge Bruce Watson ruled on Friday that he found no evidence of juror misconduct in the class action lawsuit against Skilled Healthcare and therefore no grounds for a mistrial.

The motion was filed earlier this month in response to a juror's apparent lie about her previous employment on court documents, thus alleging bias. Plaintiffs' attorneys filed declarations from other jury members dismissing the bias claim.

Watson also issued a permanent injunction that orders all Skilled Healthcare facilities to comply with the minimum staffing requirements mandated by California statute. Effective immediately, each of the 22 facilities implicated in the suit is to maintain 3.2 nursing hours per-patient, per-day. A third party will be appointed to monitor that each facility complies with the law, and any costs associated with that will be paid by the defendants, according to court documents.

Full story here.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on August 30, 2010 (boomark / email).