Court Halts $1 Billion Suit Against Nursing Homes’ Management

Nursing home residents with class action claims valued at nearly $1 billion saw their suit against the homes’ management company’s owner put on the shelf by the Eleventh Circuit Friday.

The plaintiffs, clients at 22 short-term skilled nursing facilities in Florida, alleged that the nursing homes weren’t properly licensed under state law and that the services rendered were therefore substandard and unbillable.

Based on a recommendation from a magistrate judge, the district court dismissed the case for a number of reasons, but the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit focused on applications of the Colorado River doctrine, which ...