Wit et al v. UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Joseph C. Spero granting 116 Motion to Intervene filed by Proposed Intervenor Linda Tillitt (jcslc1S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/9/2016)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DAVID WIT, et al.,
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Plaintiffs,
Case No. 14-cv-02346-JCS
Related Case No. 14-cv-05337 JCS
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v.
ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS TO
INTERVENE
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UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH,
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Defendant.
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Re: Dkt. No. 116 (Case No. 14-cv-02346
JCS) & 79 (Case No. 14-cv-05337 JCS)
GARY ALEXANDER, et al.,
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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH,
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Defendant.
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I.
INTRODUCTION
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A motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 24(b), governing permissive joinder, has been filed
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each of the related cases. See Case No. C-14-2346, Docket No. 116 (“Tillitt Motion”) & Case No.
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C-14-5337 (“Driscoll Motion”) (collectively, the “Motions”). For the reasons stated below, the
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Motions are GRANTED.1
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II.
BACKGROUND
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The complaint in Case No. C-14-2346 (“Wit”) was filed on May 21, 2014. In Wit,
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Plaintiffs brought a putative class action against Defendants UBH and United Healthcare,
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The parties have consented to the jurisdiction of the undersigned magistrate judge pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 636(c). In addition, both of the Proposed Intervenors, Linda Tillitt and Michael Driscoll,
have consented to the jurisdiction of the undersigned magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
636(c).
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challenging Defendants’ denials of benefit claims relating to residential treatment of mental health
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and substance abuse disorders. On August 18, 2014, Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Class Action
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Complaint (“CAC”) that named only UBH as a defendant. UBH brought a motion to dismiss the
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CAC under Rule 12(b)(6), which the Court denied on November 20, 2014. Discovery commenced
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in the Wit action at that time.
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On December 4, 2014, Plaintiffs in Case No. C-14-5337 (“Alexander”) brought a putative
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class action against UBH asserting claims very similar to the claims in Wit. The parties are
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represented by the same counsel in both cases. The Court related the Alexander and Wit cases on
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January 22, 2015. UBH brought a motion to dismiss in the Alexander case, which was denied on
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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April 7, 2015. Discovery in the Alexander case commenced at that time.
In both Wit and Alexander, the parties have been conducting class discovery, with a
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discovery cut-off date of February 25, 2016. Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification is due on
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March 28, 2016.
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The pending motions to intervene were filed on January 7, 2016. In the Driscoll Motion,
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Proposed Intervenor Michael Driscoll seeks to intervene in the Alexander case to protect the
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interests of his daughter . . . on the basis that he “has been injured by Defendant UBH’s
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application of its overly-restrictive internal benefit determination guidelines when it wrongfully
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denied the claim for insurance coverage for [her] intensive outpatient treatment.” Driscoll Motion
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at 1. Driscoll appealed the denial, which was affirmed by UBH, and then sought review by an
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external reviewer. Proposed Intervenor Complaint (Driscoll) ¶¶ 67-70. On February 25, 2015 the
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external reviewer upheld UBH’s denial of benefits. Id. ¶ 70. The allegations in his Proposed
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Intervenor Complaint are virtually identical to those in the Alexander complaint, except with
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respect to the specific factual allegations relating to Driscoll’s daughter.
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In the Tillitt Motion, Proposed Intervenor Linda Tillitt seeks to intervene in the Wit case to
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protect the interests of her deceased son relating to UBH’s “refusal to provide coverage for the
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residential treatment of her son . . ., which led to [his] death from a drug overdose.” Tillitt Motion
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at 1. Tillitt’s son died of a drug overdose on September 26, 2015, after UBH had terminated
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coverage of his residential treatment in July 2015. Proposed Intervenor Complaint (Tillitt) ¶¶ 722
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73. Like the Driscoll Proposed Intervenor Complaint, the allegations in the Tillitt Proposed
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Intervenor Complaint are virtually identical to the allegations in the Wit complaint.
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III.
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ANALYSIS
To intervene permissively under Rule 24(b)(1), a party “must prove that it meets three
threshold requirements: (1) it shares a common question of law or fact with the main action; (2) its
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motion is timely; and (3) the court has an independent basis for jurisdiction over the applicant’s
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claims.” Donnelly v. Glickman, 159 F.3d 405, 412 (9th Cir. 1998) (citing Nw. Forest Resource
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Council, 82 F.3d at 839). If the party seeking to intervene satisfies those elements, the district
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court “is then entitled to consider other factors in making its discretionary decision on the issue of
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permissive intervention,” including “the nature and extent of the intervenors’ interest,” “whether
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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the intervenors’ interests are adequately represented by other parties,” and “whether parties
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seeking intervention will significantly contribute to full development of the underlying factual
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issues in the suit and to the just and equitable adjudication of the legal questions presented.” See
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Spangler v. Pasadena City Bd. of Educ., 552 F.2d 1326, 1329 (9th Cir. 1977). The district court
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has broad discretion to grant or deny the motion, but “must consider whether intervention will
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unduly delay the main action or will unfairly prejudice the existing parties.” Donnelly, 159 F.3d at
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412; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(b)(3). “[J]judicial economy is a relevant consideration in deciding
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a motion for permissive intervention.” Venegas v. Skaggs, 867 F.2d 527, 531 (9th Cir. 1989) aff'd
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sub nom. Venegas v. Mitchell, 495 U.S. 82 (1990).
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With respect to the threshold requirements for permissive intervention, UBH does not
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dispute that the proposed intervenors have met the first and third requirements, that is, that their
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claims share common questions of law or fact with the Wit and Alexander actions and that the
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Court has an independent basis for jurisdiction over their claims. UBH argues, however, that
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Driscoll and Tillitt should not be permitted to intervene because their motions are untimely. In
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determining whether a motion to intervene is timely, courts consider “the stage of the proceedings,
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the prejudice to existing parties, and the length of and reason for the delay.” League of United
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Latin Am. Citizens v. Wilson, 131 F.3d 1297, 1308 (9th Cir. 1997).
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There was some delay on the part of Driscoll and Tillitt in bringing their motions. As
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noted above, Driscoll’s appeal of UBH’s denial of benefits for his daughter’s IOP treatment was
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rejected by an outside reviewer on February 25, 2015, while UBH’s denial of coverage to Tillitt
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for her son’s in-patient treatment was denied in July of 2015. This modest delay is not sufficient
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to render the motions to intervene untimely, however, because Wit and Alexander are at a
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relatively early stage. Class discovery has not yet closed and almost two months remain before
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Plaintiffs’ class certification motion is due to be filed. Dates have not yet been set for dispositive
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motions, which are not imminent.
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Nor will intervention at this early stage of the case result in prejudice to UBH. Given that
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the class claims of the proposed intervenors are virtually identical to those of the plaintiffs in Wit
and Alexander, UBH will only be required to conduct a small amount of additional discovery if
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Tillitt and Driscoll are permitted to intervene. While this may impose some burden on UBH, the
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Court notes that UBH will be required to perform the same work if Tillitt and Driscoll must file
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their claims in separate actions. Thus, this burden does not amount to prejudice that would justify
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denying permissive intervention. See Kamakahi v. Am. Soc'y for Reprod. Med., No. 11-CV-
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01781-JCS, 2015 WL 1926312, at *4 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 27, 2015) (“prejudice is evaluated based on
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the difference between timely and untimely intervention—not based on the work Defendants
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would need to do regardless of when [proposed intervenors] sought to intervene”) (citing Day v.
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Apoliona, 505 F.3d 963, 965 (9th Cir.2007)). The Court concludes that the threshold
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requirements for permissive intervention are satisfied as to both Tillitt and Driscoll.
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The Court further finds that exercising its discretion to permit permissive intervention by
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Tillitt and Driscoll is appropriate based on judicial economy. In particular, requiring Tillitt and
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Driscoll to litigate their claims in separate proceedings would result in significant duplication of
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effort given the overlap in the claims of the proposed intervenors with those of the plaintiffs in Wit
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and Alexander. Further, as no class has yet been certified, it is not possible to determine whether
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the interests of the proposed intervenors will be adequately represented in the two actions that are
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currently pending. Therefore, the Court rejects UBH’s assertion that the Motions should be
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denied on that ground.
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IV.
CONCLUSION
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The Motions are GRANTED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: February 9, 2016
______________________________________
JOSEPH C. SPERO
Chief Magistrate Judge
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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