◼ Humboldt County attorneys to receive California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award; effects of Skilled Healthcare lawsuit being felt across the state - Times-Standard
For the second time in two years a Humboldt County lawyer will take home the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year award.
Make that two attorneys.
Timothy Needham and Michael Crowley, both of the Janssen law firm in Eureka, will be presented the award next month for their work in last year's class action lawsuit against national nursing home chain Skilled Healthcare.
Yet still, half the article is all Paul - and no apparent answer to the question: “Three private law firms initiated the Skilled Healthcare case and again did most of the work, but in his ads Gallegos takes full credit. His ads are neither true nor ethical…
While being dishonest is more than bad enough, vilification, smearing, and divisive politics are worse. This is Gallegos’ fourth campaign and in each of the others he has done these things and won…
“If you really want the truth about Gallegos’ professional ethics, inquire of him why the other affected DA’s and the Attorney General all refused to join in his Skilled Healthcare settlement due to their ‘ethical concerns’ over his use of secret settlement monies and more. Ask Gallegos himself to explain directly, honestly and openly the formal rebuke he has received from the California District Attorneys Association for his unprofessional use of DA authority in settling that case. Go ahead, ask him to explain honestly and directly. He won’t. That would require real courage and the capacity to tell the truth regardless. He has neither…”
◼ http://www.arcataeye.com/2010/10/paul-hagen-gallegos-is-no-alternative-–-october-26-2010/
◼ Two attorneys win award for work Gallegos took credit for - Mirror
C’mon, Drange – ask the question! GET A COPY OF THE LETTER! You can do it! It’s called reporting. How long can it possibly take?
Showing posts with label Skilled Healthcare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skilled Healthcare. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Campaign archaeology: The Gallegos Propaganda Blog
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◼ DA and Plaintiffs in the Driver’s Seat on Skilled Healthcare Case…
◼ Seniors protected from unscrupulous nursing facilities, thanks in great measure to the intervention of District Attorney Paul Gallegos…
◼ Gallegos moves for Injunction against Skilled Healthcare…
◼ Gallegos Forces Nursing Facilities to Follow the Law…
◼ Gallegos calls Skilled Nursing’s bluff in court…
◼ Why Gallegos Went to Bat for Seniors…
◼ Gallegos Wins Justice for Seniors. Settlements to bring $2Million to Humboldt DAs Office…
NIce, huh? Especially in contrast to Paul Hagen’s honest characterization of Gallegos’ self serving chest thumping:
“…Three private law firms initiated the Skilled Healthcare case and again did most of the work, but in his ads Gallegos takes full credit. His ads are neither true nor ethical…
“If you really want the truth about Gallegos’ professional ethics, inquire of him why the other affected DA’s and the Attorney General all refused to join in his Skilled Healthcare settlement due to their ‘ethical concerns’ over his use of secret settlement monies and more. Ask Gallegos himself to explain directly, honestly and openly the formal rebuke he has received from the California District Attorneys Association for his unprofessional use of DA authority in settling that case. Go ahead, ask him to explain honestly and directly. He won’t. That would require real courage and the capacity to tell the truth regardless. He has neither…”
So, why DID the other affected DA’s and the Attorney General all refuse to join in his Skilled Healthcare settlement due to their ‘ethical concerns’ over his use of secret settlement monies and more?… Go ahead, ask him to explain honestly and directly.
And here's a tip for reporters: The first time you ask the question, he has the prepared bullshit answer. The second time you ask the question, it'll garble a bit. The third time you will start to get closer to the truth, and by the fifth time, you will, maybe, get the truth. If nothing else, you will know he was trying to snow you. John Matthews should give lessons.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Judge throws out motion for mistrial in Skilled Healthcare case; court also grants injunction against nursing home company
◼ TS Judge throws out motion for mistrial in Skilled Healthcare case; court also grants injunction against nursing home company
A Humboldt County judge threw out a motion for a mistrial in the class action lawsuit against Skilled Healthcare on Friday, signaling another wild day for the company's stock.
The motion, filed earlier this month by defense attorneys, alleged misconduct by one member of the jury that returned a $677 million verdict against the company on July 6. Defense attorneys called the amount, which remains the largest jury verdict in the United States this year, “annihilating,” and immediately took action to have it overturned.
In response to the motion, plaintiffs' attorneys filed a handful of declarations from other jury members dismissing the alleged bias and serving as a basis for Judge Bruce Watson to deny the motion. In his ruling, Watson stated that he found no evidence of juror misconduct and no grounds for a mistrial...
In addition to the denial of the motion, the court 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....
◼ Gallegos Forces Nursing Facilities to Follow the Law Gallegos' own propaganda blog...
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_15913875
Mistrial motion denied in Skilled Healthcare case
The Times-Standard
Posted: 08/27/2010 10:44:03 AM PDT
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson denied Skilled Healthcare’s motion for a mistrial in a ruling filed with the court today.
In his ruling, Watson states that he found no evidence of juror misconduct and no grounds for a mistrial in the class-action lawsuit that resulted in a $677 million award of damages against the nursing home chain for failing to maintain 3.2 nursing hours per patient, per day, as mandated by California statute.
In a separate ruling filed today, Watson also granted a permanent injunction sought by Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos in the case. Now granted, the injunction requires Skilled Healthcare to comply with California state and meet minimum staffing requirements.
A Humboldt County judge threw out a motion for a mistrial in the class action lawsuit against Skilled Healthcare on Friday, signaling another wild day for the company's stock.
The motion, filed earlier this month by defense attorneys, alleged misconduct by one member of the jury that returned a $677 million verdict against the company on July 6. Defense attorneys called the amount, which remains the largest jury verdict in the United States this year, “annihilating,” and immediately took action to have it overturned.
In response to the motion, plaintiffs' attorneys filed a handful of declarations from other jury members dismissing the alleged bias and serving as a basis for Judge Bruce Watson to deny the motion. In his ruling, Watson stated that he found no evidence of juror misconduct and no grounds for a mistrial...
In addition to the denial of the motion, the court 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....
◼ Gallegos Forces Nursing Facilities to Follow the Law Gallegos' own propaganda blog...
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_15913875
Mistrial motion denied in Skilled Healthcare case
The Times-Standard
Posted: 08/27/2010 10:44:03 AM PDT
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson denied Skilled Healthcare’s motion for a mistrial in a ruling filed with the court today.
In his ruling, Watson states that he found no evidence of juror misconduct and no grounds for a mistrial in the class-action lawsuit that resulted in a $677 million award of damages against the nursing home chain for failing to maintain 3.2 nursing hours per patient, per day, as mandated by California statute.
In a separate ruling filed today, Watson also granted a permanent injunction sought by Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos in the case. Now granted, the injunction requires Skilled Healthcare to comply with California state and meet minimum staffing requirements.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Skilled Healthcare suit to be continued
◼ Largest Jury Verdict Of 2010, Against Skilled Healthcare, May Get Tossed Due To Jury Tampering
...To put it bluntly, it appears that one of the jurors in the case lied to the court in order to get onto the jury. That's what I was told by an attorney representing Skilled Healthcare who reached out to me on Friday... (says the author at the link)
As you might guess, before a case like this takes place, all of the perspective jurors are asked questions (sometimes a LOT of questions) in order to make absolutely sure they don’t have any conflicts of interest that would keep them from being impartial. It turns out that one of the jurors not only had familiarity with one of the nursing home facilities in question, but specifically had a very negative opinion of it.
It’s more complicated than you or I want to get into (you can read all of the details in filed court documents here), but this one juror apparently used to work in the county coroner’s office and in that capacity had dealings with a friend of hers who had issues with a Skilled nursing home.
News of this conflict would never have come to light, except that this juror bragged about it after the trial was over, at a reception hosted by the District Attorney’s office. It was so bad that it was actual two other jurors who heard it and brought it to the attention of Skilled’s attorneys. Their statements were taken and submitted to the court last Friday in a motion that also included testimony from the former Coroner (now a local city councilmember) who made it clear that he was well aware of the negative bias of this juror towards Skilled Healthcare.
Now the plaintiff’s attorneys will get a chance to respond to these allegations, but I don’t see how they are going to refute the facts that have come to light. It seems to me very likely that the judge in this case is going to have no choice but to declare a mistrial and strike down this verdict. Never mind the potential influence that this biased and untruthful juror would have had on the rest of the jury (every see 12 Angry Men?), in this kind of case it actually takes the affirmative votes of nine jurors to find wrongdoing – which is precisely the number who did so in this case. In other words, if you disqualified the vote of just this one juror, it would mean the verdict would not have been reached.
I presume that the case will be re-tried, of course. If Skilled Healthcare was not providing required minimum levels of care for those in their nursing homes, they should be held accountable (they maintain that they did provide adequate care). But if our justice system is going to work property, should another trial conclude wrong-doing on the party of this nursing home owner and operator, the jury must assign a financial verdict that is actually rational.
And as for the juror appears to have lied her way onto this jury – it seems to me that a new criminal investigation should be opened into her conduct. No one is above the law.
◼ Will Massive $671 Million Verdict Against Skilled Healthcare Lead To The End Of Privately Owned Nursing Homes?
◼ Skilled Healthcare suit to be continued
A hearing on the latest motion in the class-action lawsuit involving Skilled Healthcare is being pushed back to Friday, the court ruled this morning.
Attorneys agreed to address the issue of juror misconduct, along with a possible injunction sought by Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos, on Friday. There is no word yet if parties in the case have reached a settlement.
...To put it bluntly, it appears that one of the jurors in the case lied to the court in order to get onto the jury. That's what I was told by an attorney representing Skilled Healthcare who reached out to me on Friday... (says the author at the link)
As you might guess, before a case like this takes place, all of the perspective jurors are asked questions (sometimes a LOT of questions) in order to make absolutely sure they don’t have any conflicts of interest that would keep them from being impartial. It turns out that one of the jurors not only had familiarity with one of the nursing home facilities in question, but specifically had a very negative opinion of it.
It’s more complicated than you or I want to get into (you can read all of the details in filed court documents here), but this one juror apparently used to work in the county coroner’s office and in that capacity had dealings with a friend of hers who had issues with a Skilled nursing home.
News of this conflict would never have come to light, except that this juror bragged about it after the trial was over, at a reception hosted by the District Attorney’s office. It was so bad that it was actual two other jurors who heard it and brought it to the attention of Skilled’s attorneys. Their statements were taken and submitted to the court last Friday in a motion that also included testimony from the former Coroner (now a local city councilmember) who made it clear that he was well aware of the negative bias of this juror towards Skilled Healthcare.
Now the plaintiff’s attorneys will get a chance to respond to these allegations, but I don’t see how they are going to refute the facts that have come to light. It seems to me very likely that the judge in this case is going to have no choice but to declare a mistrial and strike down this verdict. Never mind the potential influence that this biased and untruthful juror would have had on the rest of the jury (every see 12 Angry Men?), in this kind of case it actually takes the affirmative votes of nine jurors to find wrongdoing – which is precisely the number who did so in this case. In other words, if you disqualified the vote of just this one juror, it would mean the verdict would not have been reached.
I presume that the case will be re-tried, of course. If Skilled Healthcare was not providing required minimum levels of care for those in their nursing homes, they should be held accountable (they maintain that they did provide adequate care). But if our justice system is going to work property, should another trial conclude wrong-doing on the party of this nursing home owner and operator, the jury must assign a financial verdict that is actually rational.
And as for the juror appears to have lied her way onto this jury – it seems to me that a new criminal investigation should be opened into her conduct. No one is above the law.
◼ Will Massive $671 Million Verdict Against Skilled Healthcare Lead To The End Of Privately Owned Nursing Homes?
◼ Skilled Healthcare suit to be continued
A hearing on the latest motion in the class-action lawsuit involving Skilled Healthcare is being pushed back to Friday, the court ruled this morning.
Attorneys agreed to address the issue of juror misconduct, along with a possible injunction sought by Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos, on Friday. There is no word yet if parties in the case have reached a settlement.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Skilled Healthcare Verdict
◼ Jury imposes maximum damages on Skilled Healthcare; nursing home chain faces upwards of $600 million for health code violations
...”This is a really strong statement to Skilled Healthcare that they have to follow the law,” said plaintiff's Attorney Michael Thamer, who delivered the closing arguments in the case and specializes in fighting corporate abuse. “They need to know that they are going to be held responsible....
◼ Verdict: Skilled Healthcare faces more than $600 million in damages
◼ Skilled Healthcare suit grinds forward in Eureka; defense calls economics professor to the stand
◼ Injunction phase of Skilled Healthcare suit continues
◼ Eureka facility administrator testifies in Skilled Healthcare suit; injunction phase of case set to continue next week
◼ Closing arguments begin in Skilled Healthcare case
...The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office intervened in the lawsuit, and has been largely a bystander in the case from the start. District Attorney Paul Gallegos said that his office is planning to file an injunction against the defendant later this week that would order Skilled Healthcare to be in compliance with the law in the future.
Gallegos said the penalties, depending on how the court interprets them, could amount to up to $2,500 for each infraction. If you multiply this by the number of patients represented in the case, Skilled Healthcare is looking at a possible 1.4 million violations.
”It's been a long-term problem,” said Gallegos. “There is overwhelming evidence that the law has been broken."...
◼ Arguments in Skilled Healthcare suit conclude; Humboldt County District Attorney to address case today
...District Attorney Paul Gallegos will be in court today when the injunction phase of the trial -- which does not involve the jury -- begins. The district attorney's office intervened in the case four years ago, assisting with collecting witnesses and sifting through evidence over the past few months.
Now Gallegos will make the state's case to prove to the court that Skilled Healthcare failed to provide adequate staffing. Gallegos said that he will present evidence, including video clips of witness testimony, with the goal of getting an injunction filed against Skilled Healthcare that could assess additional penalties and would order the company to make sure that staffing levels are compliant with the law....
◼ links
◼ Skilled Healthcare stock takes a nosedive; outlook for company grim after Humboldt County jury renders verdict
◼ Seniors protected from unscrupulous nursing facilities, thanks in great measure to the intervention of District Attorney Paul Gallegos - the headline on the Gallegos propaganda blog
...”This is a really strong statement to Skilled Healthcare that they have to follow the law,” said plaintiff's Attorney Michael Thamer, who delivered the closing arguments in the case and specializes in fighting corporate abuse. “They need to know that they are going to be held responsible....
◼ Verdict: Skilled Healthcare faces more than $600 million in damages
◼ Skilled Healthcare suit grinds forward in Eureka; defense calls economics professor to the stand
◼ Injunction phase of Skilled Healthcare suit continues
◼ Eureka facility administrator testifies in Skilled Healthcare suit; injunction phase of case set to continue next week
◼ Closing arguments begin in Skilled Healthcare case
...The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office intervened in the lawsuit, and has been largely a bystander in the case from the start. District Attorney Paul Gallegos said that his office is planning to file an injunction against the defendant later this week that would order Skilled Healthcare to be in compliance with the law in the future.
Gallegos said the penalties, depending on how the court interprets them, could amount to up to $2,500 for each infraction. If you multiply this by the number of patients represented in the case, Skilled Healthcare is looking at a possible 1.4 million violations.
”It's been a long-term problem,” said Gallegos. “There is overwhelming evidence that the law has been broken."...
◼ Arguments in Skilled Healthcare suit conclude; Humboldt County District Attorney to address case today
...District Attorney Paul Gallegos will be in court today when the injunction phase of the trial -- which does not involve the jury -- begins. The district attorney's office intervened in the case four years ago, assisting with collecting witnesses and sifting through evidence over the past few months.
Now Gallegos will make the state's case to prove to the court that Skilled Healthcare failed to provide adequate staffing. Gallegos said that he will present evidence, including video clips of witness testimony, with the goal of getting an injunction filed against Skilled Healthcare that could assess additional penalties and would order the company to make sure that staffing levels are compliant with the law....
◼ links
◼ Skilled Healthcare stock takes a nosedive; outlook for company grim after Humboldt County jury renders verdict
◼ Seniors protected from unscrupulous nursing facilities, thanks in great measure to the intervention of District Attorney Paul Gallegos - the headline on the Gallegos propaganda blog
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