Tuohey ex rel. Bryant v. Chenal Healthcare, LLC

173 F. Supp. 3d 804, 2016 WL 1180339, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39775
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Arkansas
DecidedMarch 25, 2016
DocketNo. 4:15CV00506 JLH
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 173 F. Supp. 3d 804 (Tuohey ex rel. Bryant v. Chenal Healthcare, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tuohey ex rel. Bryant v. Chenal Healthcare, LLC, 173 F. Supp. 3d 804, 2016 WL 1180339, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39775 (E.D. Ark. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

J. LEON HOLMES, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Brenda Tuohey and Malvorn May,1 individually and on behalf of. all residents and estates of .residents who resided at. Chenal Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center from July 23, 2010, through the present, commenced this putative class action against the defendants in - the. Circuit Court of Pulaski County on June 23, 2015. The amended complaint ■ contains six counts, alleging that the Center was chronically understaffed in violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act,2 the admission agreement, and the Center’s provider agreements, that the failure to staff the Center adequately constituted ordinary negligence, that the defendants participated in a conspiracy to ündefstaff the Center, and that the defendants were unjustly enriched. The defendants3 have filed a motion to dismiss all counts other [808]*808than Count III — ordinary negligence— pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Document #42. For the following reasons, the motion to dismiss is granted in part and denied in part.

I.

’ • The defendants ‘ are a web of corporate entities and individual administrators involved in some fashion with the Chenal Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, which is a nursing home in Little Rock. The amended complaint alleges that the corporate entities developed the business policies that resulted in the alleged under-staffing of the Center, while the individual administrators allegedly acted in conjunction with the corporate entities to reduce staffing levels or maintain staffing at an inadequate level. Document #35 at 27, ¶ 57. Tuohey’s mother, Mildred Mae Bryant, was a resident of the Center from approximately June 25, 2007 to December 13, 2014. Id. at 2, ¶3. According to the amended complaint, Bryant’s stay at the Center accelerated the deterioration of her health, resulting in multiple urinary tract infections, poor hygiene, a broken tibia, a broken fibula, unsanitary living conditions, and ultimately her death. Id. at 37, ¶ 81. Malvorn May’s stepfather, Charles R. Stills, was a-resident of the Center from approximately September 2012 until his death on March 5, 2013. Id. at 2, ¶¶ 5-7. The amended complaint alleges that Stills’s stay at the Center accelerated the deterioration of his health, resulting in multiple urinary tract infections, - poor hygiene, a broken hip, unsanitary living conditions, and ultimately his death. Id. at 37, ¶ 82.

Residents of the Center are elderly, disabled, and confined, to their beds or unable to rise from a bed or chair independently. Id. at 23, ¶46. They rely on staff for skilled nursing care and treatment, as well assistance with basic tasks, such as eating, bathing, dressing, moving from the bed to a wheelchair, and using the toilet. Id. Certified Nursing Aides are the staff primarily charged with providing this type of assistance. Id. at ¶ 47. Tuohey alleges that the defendants systemically failed to meet the needs of residents by limiting the budget for CNA staffing and.in turn limiting the number of CNA’s on duty at the Center. Document #35' at. 23, .¶ 48. There were not enough CNA’s to provide regular hygiene care or re-position immobile residents, which left residents in dirty diapers, clothes, and beds, causing discomfort and sores. Id. at 24, ¶51. There were not enough CNA’s to timely respond to call lights activated by residents in need, causing residents to soil themselves or fall while attempting to walk to the bathroom without help. Id. And there were not enough CNA’s to help residents eat at the designated time, contributing to weight loss and dehydration. Id. According to Tuohey, understaffing saved the defendants millions of dollars. Document #35 at 25, ¶52, From June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2015, the Arkansas Department of Human Services Office of Long Term Care cited the Center for .thirty-five health-related deficiencies, including the failure to provide necessary care and services to maintain the highest well being of each resident. Id. at ¶ 53.

II.

To survive a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R, Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Although detailed factual allegations are not Required, the complaint, must set forth “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1974, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows [809]*809the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). The. court must accept as-true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint, Twombly, 550 U.S. at 572, 127 S.Ct. at 1975, and must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmov-ing party. Gorog v. Best Buy Co., Inc., 760 F.3d 787, 792 (8th Cir.2014). The complaint must contain more than labels, conclusions, or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action, which means that the court is “not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. at 1965.

A. The Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act

Count I fails as a matter of law because the ADTPA does not apply to the defendants. Tuohey alleges that.the defendants engaged in deceptiye trade practices in violation of the ADTPA by knowingly failing to adequately staff the Center. Document #35 at 38-42, ¶¶ 87-99. The ADTPA protects Arkansas consumers from a variety of unfair and deceptive practices, but its “safe harbor provision” precludes its application to “[a]ctions or transactions permitted under laws administered by the Insurance Commissioner, the Securities Commissioner, the State Highway Commission,, the Bank Commissioner, or other regulatory body or officer acting under statutory authority of this state or the United States, unless a director of these divisions specifically requests the Attorney General to implement the powers of this chapter _” Ark, Code Ann. § 4-88-101(3). Tuohey urges this Court to interpret the safe harbor provision narrowly to only preclude actions against defendants who have complied with applicable laws and regulations. Document #49 at 5.

But the Arkansas Supreme Court did not make an inquiry into the specific conduct of the defendants in Arloe Designs v. Arkansas Capital Corp., holding that the ADTPA did not- apply to a nonprofit, which was subject to the supervision of the Arkansas State Bank and the Arkansas State Board of Finance,' and a national bank, which was regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission. 2014 Ark. 21, 431 S.W.3d 277, 281. The court stated:

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173 F. Supp. 3d 804, 2016 WL 1180339, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39775, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tuohey-ex-rel-bryant-v-chenal-healthcare-llc-ared-2016.