Cretney-Tsosie, et al. v. Creekside Hospice II, LLC, et al.

Filing 185

ORDER granting 184 Motion to Stay this case in its entirety until 4/28/2017. Signed by Judge Andrew P. Gordon on 2/23/2017. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - JM)

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Case 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Document 184 Filed 02/23/17 Page 1 of 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Kathleen McDermott (pro hac vice) Attorney in Charge Howard Young (pro hac vice) Lucas Elliot (pro hac vice) Clayton Morton (pro hac vice) John Cosgriff (pro hac vice) MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004 T 202.739.3000 | F 202.739.3001 Email: kmcdermott@morganlewis.com Charles H. McCrea (SBN #104) HEJMANOWSKI & MCCREA LLC 520 S. 4th St., Ste. 320 Las Vegas, NV 89101 T 702.834.8777 | F 702.834.5262 Email: chm@hmlawlv.com Attorneys for CREEKSIDE HOSPICE II, LLC, SKILLED HEALTHCARE GROUP INC. and SKILLED HEALTHCARE, LLC UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA 13 14 15 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al., 16 Case No.: 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Plaintiffs, 17 v. 18 CREEKSIDE HOSPICE II, LLC, et al., 19 Defendants, JOINT STATUS REPORT 20 21 AND ALL RELATED ACTIONS. 22 23 Plaintiffs United States of America, Joanne Cretney-Tsosie, and Veneta Lepera and 24 Defendants Creekside Hospice II, LLC, Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., and Skilled Healthcare, 25 LLC (all hereinafter referred to as “Creekside”), submit the foregoing Joint Status Report 26 27 28 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WASHINGTON D C 1 Case 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Document 184 Filed 02/23/17 Page 2 of 10 1 pursuant to the Court’s September 2, 2016 Order (Dkt. #162) and the Court’s November 7, 2016 2 Order granting the parties’ Joint Motion to Stay Action Until February 28, 2017. (Dkt. #183).1 3 I. 4 This action is brought by the United States and Relators Joanne Cretney-Tsosie and 5 6 Background and Status of Discovery Veneta Lepera under the False Claims Act against a hospice provider, Creekside Hospice, and its 7 corporate parent, Skilled Healthcare. The gravamen of the action is that Creekside violated the 8 False Claims Act by knowingly submitting or causing the submission of false claims to Medicare 9 for reimbursement for hospice services for patients who were ineligible for coverage in the time 10 11 12 13 14 period 2010 to 2013. These allegations are disputed and Creekside filed a motion to dismiss the action in August 2015. (Dkt. #98).2 Discovery commenced in June 2015 and is not completed by the parties. There is no Scheduling Order in this action. The parties’ unresolved discovery disputes are set forth in Status Reports that were filed in September 2015. (Dkt. #111-13). A 15 temporary stay against depositions of current and former employees was granted by the Court in 16 September 2015, and no expert discovery has occurred. (Dkt. #114). 17 18 19 20 21 Throughout 2016, the United States and Creekside engaged in significant and productive discussions pertaining to settlement of the action. The parties filed a Joint Unopposed Motion to Stay Action for Ninety Days Pending Settlement Discussions on June 2, 2016 (Dkt. #159). The Court granted that Motion on June 15, 2016. (Dkt. #160). On September 1, 2016, the parties filed 22 a joint Motion to Continue Stay until November 15, 2016 (Dkt. #161), which the court granted on 23 September 2, 2016 (Dkt. #162). On November 7, 2016, the Court extended the stay until January 24 6, 2017. (Dkt. #173). On January 6, 2017, the Court extended the stay until February 28, 2017. 25 26 27 28 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WASHINGTON D C 1 Counsel for Relator Lepera has not replied when asked to approve the final version of this Status Report. In light of the parties’ agreement in principle to settle the dispute, the Court dismissed without prejudice Creekside’s Motion to Dismiss as moot. (Dkt. #162). 2 2 Case 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Document 184 Filed 02/23/17 Page 3 of 10 1 (Dkt. 183). The parties seek an additional stay to April 28, 2017 to finalize the settlement 2 documents related to this action. 3 4 5 6 II. Settlement Agreement and Other Outstanding Issues The United States and Creekside have reached an agreement in principle pertaining to settlement of the action. The parties need additional time to obtain the necessary approvals for 7 the proposed settlement, including the approval of the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the 8 Civil Division and the United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. 9 10 11 12 13 14 In addition, Relator Cretney-Tsosie and Defendants are currently negotiating Relator’s statutory attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d). If these negotiations are not successfully concluded by the time the action is dismissed, Relator Cretney-Tsosie will file a motion for attorneys’ fees consistent with Local Rule 54-14. Finally, in the event Relator Cretney-Tsosie and the Government are unable to reach an 15 agreement as to the percentage for her relator’s award pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d), Relator 16 Cretney-Tsosie will file a motion with the Court to resolve the share issue. 17 18 19 20 21 III. Motion to Continue the Court’s November 7, 2016 Order Staying this Action The parties respectfully request that the Court continue its stay until April 28, 2017 in order to give the parties time to obtain the necessary approvals for the proposed settlement and to execute the agreement and submit dismissal papers to the Court. The parties request that the stay 22 exclude adjudication of Plaintiff/Relator Cretney-Tsosie’s Motion to Dismiss the Complaint of 23 Plaintiff/Relator Lepera (“Motion to Dismiss”) (Dkt. 166), which is now fully briefed and raises 24 an issue that will not be resolved by the Settlement Agreement. A stay will assure that the Court 25 does not engage in case activity unnecessarily and will reduce the burden and expense of the 26 27 28 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WASHINGTON D C litigation process for the parties. A Motion to Continue Stay Until April 28, 2017 and proposed order accompanies this Joint Status Report. 3 Case 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Document 184 Filed 02/23/17 Page 4 of 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Dated: February 23, 2017 Respectfully submitted, Counsel for Defendants Creekside Hospice II, LLC, Creekside Home Care II, LLC, Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. and Skilled Healthcare, LLC. /s/ Kathleen McDermott Kathleen McDermott (pro hac vice) Attorney in Charge Howard Young (pro hac vice) Lucas Elliot (pro hac vice) Clayton Morton (pro hac vice) John Cosgriff (pro hac vice) MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004 T 202.739.3000 | F 202.739.3001 Email: kmcdermott@morganlewis.com Charles H. McCrea (SBN #104) HEJMANOWSKI & MCCREA LLC 520 S. 4th St., Ste. 320 Las Vegas, NV 89101 T 702.834.8777 | F 702.834.5262 Email: chm@hmlawlv.com Counsel for Plaintiff CHAD A. READLER Acting Assistant Attorney General DANIEL G. BOGDEN United States Attorney 18 19 20 21 22 23 /s/ Roger Wenthe ROGER WENTHE Assistant United States Attorney MICHAEL D. GRANSTON ANDY MAO MICHAEL PODBERESKY Attorneys, Civil Division 24 Counsel for the Relator 25 L. Timothy Terry (NV Bar #2341) tim@theterrylawfirm.com The Terry Law Firm, Ltd. 102 N. Curry Street Carson City, NV 89703 775.291.9071 26 27 28 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WASHINGTON D C 4 Case 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Document 184 Filed 02/23/17 Page 5 of 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Steven Cohen (pro hac vice) scohen@cohenlawgroup.com Cohen Law Group 70 West Madison Street, Suite 4000 Chicago IL 60602 312.327.8800 Matthew J. Piers (pro hac vice) mpiers@hsplegal.com Joshua Karsh (pro hac vice) jkarsh@hsplegal.com Juliet Berger-White (pro hac vice) jberger-white@hsplegal.com Caryn Lederer clederer@hsplegal.com Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. Three First National Plaza 70 West Madison Street, Suite 4000 Chicago, Illinois 60602 312.580.0100 By: /s/ Juliet Berger-White Attorneys for Plaintiff/Relator Joanne Cretney-Tsosie 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Ruth L. Cohen, Esq. (NV Bar No: 1782) Email: rlc@paulpaddalaw.com Paul S. Padda, Esq. (NV Bar No. 10417) Email: psp@paulpaddalaw.com PAUL PADDA LAW, PLLC 4240 West Flamingo Road, Suite 220 Las Vegas, Nevada 89103 Tel: 702.366.1888 Fax: 702.366.1940 By: /s/ Paul S. Padda Attorneys for Relator Veneta Lepera 23 24 25 26 27 28 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WASHINGTON D C 5 Case 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Document 184 Filed 02/23/17 Page 6 of 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Kathleen McDermott (pro hac vice) Attorney in Charge Howard Young (pro hac vice) Lucas Elliot (pro hac vice) Clayton Morton (pro hac vice) John Cosgriff (pro hac vice) MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004 T 202.739.3000 | F 202.739.3001 Email: kmcdermott@morganlewis.com Charles H. McCrea (SBN #104) HEJMANOWSKI & MCCREA LLC 520 S. 4th St., Ste. 320 Las Vegas, NV 89101 T 702.834.8777 | F 702.834.5262 Email: chm@hmlawlv.com Attorneys for CREEKSIDE HOSPICE II, LLC, SKILLED HEALTHCARE GROUP INC. and SKILLED HEALTHCARE, LLC UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA 13 14 15 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al., 16 Case No.: 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Plaintiffs, 17 18 CREEKSIDE HOSPICE II, LLC, et al., 19 JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE STAY UNTIL APRIL 28, 2017 v. Defendants, 20 21 AND ALL RELATED ACTIONS. 22 23 24 Plaintiffs United States of America, Joanne Cretney-Tsosie and Defendants Creekside Hospice II, LLC, Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., and Skilled Healthcare, LLC (all hereinafter 25 26 27 28 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WASHINGTON D C referred to as “Creekside”), jointly move to continue the stay in this action until April 28, 2017, except for the Court’s adjudication of Plaintiff/Relator Cretney-Tsosie’s Motion to Dismiss the Complaint of Plaintiff/Relator Lepera (“Motion to Dismiss”), (Dkt. 166), which is fully briefed, 6 Case 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Document 184 Filed 02/23/17 Page 7 of 10 1 based upon an agreement in principle between the United States and Creekside to settle this 2 action, subject to approval of Department of Justice officials. A stay will allow the parties to 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 execute the agreement and file the necessary paperwork with the Court to dismiss the action. This stay will prevent additional burden on the Court and unnecessary burden and expense to the parties. All parties to the action consent to the request for a stay. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs United States of America, et al., and Defendants’ Creekside Hospice, et al., move this Honorable Court to: A. Grant their Joint Motion to Continue Stay; and B. Enter an order staying this case in its entirety until April 28, 2017. 11 12 13 Dated: February 23, 2017 Counsel for Defendants Creekside Hospice II, LLC, Creekside Home Care II, LLC, Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. and Skilled Healthcare, LLC. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Respectfully submitted, IT IS SO ORDERED. ________________________________ UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Dated: February 23, 2017. /s/ Kathleen McDermott Kathleen McDermott (pro hac vice) Attorney in Charge Howard Young (pro hac vice) Lucas Elliot (pro hac vice) Clayton Morton (pro hac vice) John Cosgriff (pro hac vice) MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004 T 202.739.3000 | F 202.739.3001 Email: kmcdermott@morganlewis.com 25 Charles H. McCrea (SBN #104) HEJMANOWSKI & MCCREA LLC 520 S. 4th St., Ste. 320 Las Vegas, NV 89101 T 702.834.8777 | F 702.834.5262 Email: chm@hmlawlv.com 26 Counsel for Plaintiff 27 CHAD A. READLER Acting Assistant Attorney General 23 24 28 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WASHINGTON D C DATED: _________________________ 7 Case 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Document 184 Filed 02/23/17 Page 8 of 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DANIEL G. BOGDEN United States Attorney /s/ Roger Wenthe ROGER WENTHE Assistant United States Attorney MICHAEL D. GRANSTON ANDY MAO MICHAEL PODBERESKY Attorneys, Civil Division 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Counsel for the Relator L. Timothy Terry (NV Bar #2341) tim@theterrylawfirm.com The Terry Law Firm, Ltd. 102 N. Curry Street Carson City, NV 89703 775.291.9071 Steven Cohen (pro hac vice) scohen@cohenlawgroup.com Cohen Law Group 70 West Madison Street, Suite 4000 Chicago IL 60602 312.327.8800 Matthew J. Piers (pro hac vice) mpiers@hsplegal.com Joshua Karsh (pro hac vice) jkarsh@hsplegal.com Juliet Berger-White (pro hac vice) jberger-white@hsplegal.com Caryn Lederer clederer@hsplegal.com Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. Three First National Plaza 70 West Madison Street, Suite 4000 Chicago, Illinois 60602 312.580.0100 By: /s/ Juliet Berger-White Attorneys for Plaintiff/Relator Joanne Cretney-Tsosie 27 28 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WASHINGTON D C Ruth L. Cohen, Esq. (NV Bar No: 1782) 8 Case 2:13-cv-00167-APG-PAL Document 184 Filed 02/23/17 Page 9 of 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 Email: rlc@paulpaddalaw.com Paul S. Padda, Esq. (NV Bar No. 10417) Email: psp@paulpaddalaw.com PAUL PADDA LAW, PLLC 4240 West Flamingo Road, Suite 220 Las Vegas, Nevada 89103 Tel: 702.366.1888 Fax: 702.366.1940 By: /s/ Paul S. Padda Attorneys for Relator Veneta Lepera 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WASHINGTON D C 9

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