Class action suit filed against California nursing home chain
A class action lawsuit (Case #07CC00005), against the beleaguered residential elder care operator Sunwest Management (see listing of Sunwest California facilities at end of releases), was filed yesterday in Orange County Superior Court, on behalf of Sophie Bury by and through her Attorney in Fact, Patricia Bury, on her behalf and on behalf of all California citizens who resided in, or are residing in, a California Sunwest facilites from Jan. 15, 2003 through Jan. 15, 2007. The complaint alleges that Sunwest Management, Inc., its directors, and the approximately 16 residential elder care facilities in the state of California that it owns, operates or manages, fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing the operation of residential care facilities for the elderly, resulting in the defendants receiving multiple citations of deficiencies from the California Department of Social Services. “We believe Paragon Gardens is typical of a Sunwest facility,” says Long Beach, Calif., plaintiff attorney Stephen Garcia of The Garcia Law Firm. “Since June 2005, Paragon Gardens earned 57 notices of deficiencies, all of which were Type A violations, considered to be the most serious. On its web site Sunwest Management claims to operate 150 ‘communities’ nationwide. How many Paragon Gardens do they have?” The lawsuit alleges that Sunwest and its facilities deliberately understaff its “communities” by forcing each facility to operate under a
budget, approved and directed by Sunwest Management and the directors of the individual facilities, that would increase business profits by charging for services that were not provided, such as adequately staffing the residential care facility as it advertises that it does.