Jackson v. The Aliera Companies Inc

Opinion

The Honorable Barbara J. Rothstein

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

DEAN MELLOM, JON PERRIN AND JULIE NO. 2:19-cv-01281-BJR PERRIN, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ Plaintiffs, MOTION TO STRIKE ALIERA’S ANSWER AND ENTER DEFAULT v. JUDGMENT OR IN THE THE ALIERA COMPANIES, INC., a PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR Delaware corporation; ALIERA SUMMARY JUDGMENT HEALTHCARE, INC., a Delaware corporation; TRINITY HEALTHSHARE, INC., a Delaware corporation,

Defendants. THIS MATTER came before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. The Court has considered the Plaintiffs’ Motion, the Declarations of Eleanor Hamburger, Jon Perrin, Dean Mellom, Roslyn Jackson, Neil F. Luria (both original and supplemental), and all attached Exhibits in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion attached to those declarations, the Declaration of Mailing (Dkt. No. 160) evidencing service of this Court’s October 26, 2021 Order (Dkt. No. 159) and Notice of Additional Authorities. No response was received from Defendant Aliera. The Court has also considered the other pleadings and records on file. Based upon the foregoing, and having found that Aliera is unrepresented, despite service of the Motion and all documents in support of the motion (original and supplemental) at Aliera’s last known place of business, and on the recorded Assignee for Aliera, and despite the allowance of sufficient time for Aliera to retain counsel (Dkt. 150) and respond, the Court hereby: 1. GRANTS Plaintiffs’ Motion to Strike Aliera’s Answer. The Clerk is hereby ORDERED to strike Aliera’s Answer from the record. 2. GRANTS Plaintiffs’ Motion for Entry of Default. 3. GRANTS Plaintiffs’ Motion for Default Judgment against Aliera. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2), the Court enters a default judgment against Defendant Aliera in favor of Roslyn and Gerald Jackson, Dean Mellom, Jon and Julie Perrin, and the Plaintiff Class. Based upon the records and pleadings herein, and as described in the Court’s oral ruling (incorporated herein by reference), the Court concludes that Defendant Aliera designed, marketed, and sold the Named Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff Class unauthorized and illegal health insurance. The Court further concludes that Aliera’s acts and omissions were also violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act. The damages suffered as a result of these illegal and fraudulent practices is as follows: (a) Roslyn and Gerald Jackson suffered damages in the amount of $12,082.00 in reformation damages; (b) Dean Mellom suffered damages in the amount of $3,442.00 in rescission damages; (c) Jon and Julie Perrin suffered damages in the amount of $7,107.92 in rescission damages; (d) the Plaintiff Class suffered damages totaling $20,646,077.08 (excluding the damages assessed to the named plaintiffs), reflecting the greater of either (i) recission damages or (ii) reformation damages for each member of the Class; (e) the Plaintiffs and Plaintiff Class are also entitled to an additional $250 per class member in damages stemming from Aliera’s violation of the Consumer Protection Act; (f) Accordingly, the total damages, including CPA damages, for Roslyn and Gerald Jackson is $12,582.00; for Dean Mellom is $3,692.00; and for Jon and Julie Perrin, is $7,607.92. The Plaintiff Class, excluding the claims of the named plaintiffs, is awarded $21,352,827.08 ($20,646,077.08 in recission/reformation damages and $706,750 in CPA damages). Judgment shall and hereby is entered in these amounts. 4. Orders that Plaintiffs’ counsel may petition for attorney fees and litigation costs pursuant to RCW 19.86.090 and Olympic Steamship Co. v. Centennial Ins. Co., 117 Wn.2d 37, 811 P.2d 673 (1991). DATED: November 11, 2021. A B arbara Jacobs Rothstein U.S. District Court Judge Presented by: SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC s/ Eleanor Hamburger Richard E. Spoonemore (WSBA #21833) Eleanor Hamburger (WSBA #26478) Email: rspoonemore@sylaw.com ehamburger@sylaw.com MYERS & COMPANY, PLLC s/ Michael David Myers Michael David Myers (WSBA #22486) Samantha Lin (WSBA #50782) 1530 Eastlake Avenue East Seattle, WA 98102 Tel. (206) 398-1188; Fax (206) 400-1115 Email: mmyers@myers-company.com slin@myers-company.com

MEHRI & SKALET, PLLC s/ Jay Angoff Jay Angoff, Pro Hac Vice Cyrus Mehri, Pro Hac Vice 1250 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 Tel. (202) 822-5100 Email: jangoff@findjustice.com cmehri@findjustice.com

Attorneys for Plaintiffs