ALF resident rights case

Have you seen this case yet— Andreyko v. Sunrise Sr. Living, Inc. I think a relevant issue for us is whether the state’s nursing home residents rights statute applied to ALF residents.  Although there were several points raised on appeal, one part of the opinion discusses interprets the application of state statute (whether an ALF would fall within the nursing home statute). Consider this from the opinion

Considering the vulnerability of this population, there is little reason to distinguish these groups by enabling only one with an enforcement mechanism to realize its rights. The parties have not submitted any legislative history to suggest an express intention to withhold the enforcement of such rights to assisted living residents. However, the Court is guided by the cannons of statutory construction. The NHRRRA expressly provides an enforcement mechanism only with regard to the rights defined therein, and such rights are expressly afforded to nursing home residents. Despite the NHRRRA’s breadth of definition of nursing home, the statute’s repeated use of the term, coupled with its singular provision for assisted living facilities with regard to limits on arbitration, suggests a distinction. The overall legislative scheme to treat these institutions separately in its licensing, standards, and regulations further supports this finding. Although it pains the Court to reach this conclusion, if the Legislature aims to establish a liability-creating scheme to enforce the rights of assisted living residents, it will need to do so expressly.