RightCHOICE Managed Care, Inc. et al v. Hospital Partners, Inc. et al

Filing 883

ORDER fixing amount of sanctions imposed under 28 U.S.C. section 1927. Signed on January 25, 2024, by District Judge Greg Kays. (Law clerk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
ST. JOSEPH DIVISION
RIGHTCHOICE MANAGED CARE, INC.,
et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
HOSPITAL PARTNERS, INC., et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 5:18-cv-06037-DGK

ORDER REGARDING AMOUNT OF SANCTIONS
This lawsuit arose out of a fraudulent pass-through billing scheme for laboratory tests.
After an eight-day trial, a jury returned a verdict in Plaintiffs’ favor for $25,653,015.
Now pending is the Court’s “Order Imposing Sanctions Under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 and
Ordering Briefing Concerning the Amount of Sanctions,” ECF No. 869, and the parties’ “Joint
Proposal Regarding Reasonable Attorney’s Fees,” ECF No. 880, filed in response. The order held
Mr. Minana should be sanctioned under § 1927 for six episodes of conduct during the litigation; it
also ordered the parties to brief what the amount of the sanction should be. The parties’ filing asks
the Court to “find $293,000 as reasonable attorney’s fees attributable to the conduct for which Mr.
Minana was sanctioned.” Joint Proposal at 1.
After reviewing the record and the parties’ request, the Court agrees that $293,000 is a
reasonable amount attributable to the conduct for which Mr. Minana was sanctioned.
Mr. Minana is hereby sanctioned $293,000 under 28 U.S.C. § 1927. The Court ORDERS
him to pay this amount to Plaintiffs within thirty days, unless the parties reach a written agreement
to pay this amount over some other period of time on terms which are mutually acceptable.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

Date:

January 25, 2024

/s/ Greg Kays
GREG KAYS, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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