Lutheran Medical Center v. Sebelius

Filing 35

MEMORANDUM and ORDER: For the reasons stated in Lutheran, 2016 WL 3882896, at *3-4, the Hospitals motion 33 for summary judgment is DENIED, the Secretarys cross-motion for summary judgment or, in the alterative, for judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED, and the Hospitals complaint is DISMISSED. Ordered by Judge Frederic Block on 2/2/2017. (Innelli, Michael)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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LUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER,
Plaintiff,
-against-

MEMORANDUM & ORDER
13-CV-7325-FB-JO

SYLVIA MATHEWS BURWELL, in her
official capacity as Secretary of the United
States Department of Health and Human
Services,
Defendant.
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Appearances:
For the Plaintiff:
ROY W. BREITENBACH
COURTNEY A. ROGERS
Garfunkel Wild, P.C.
111 Great Neck Road
Great Neck, New York 11021

For the Defendant:
ROBERT L. CAPERS
United States Attorney
Eastern District of New York
271 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, New York 11201
By:

DANA A. OLDS
Assistant United States Attorney

BLOCK, Senior District Judge:
Lutheran Medical Center (“Hospital”), a not-for-profit, general hospital, brings
this action against Sylvia Mathews Burwell, in her capacity as Secretary of the
Department of Health and Humans Services (“Secretary”), to challenge the decision of
the Provider Reimbursement Review Board (“PRRB”) that it did not have jurisdiction

to consider certain issues. Both parties move for judgments on the pleadings. Involving
the same parties who appeared before and the same issues resolved by the Court in
Lutheran Med. Ctr. v. Burwell, Nos. 14-cv-731 (FB) (RML), 14-cv-732 (FB) (RML),
2016 WL 3882896 (E.D.N.Y. July 13, 2016) (“Lutheran I & II”), the parties do not
dispute the veracity of this matter’s singularly dispositive fact: Lutheran failed to
comply with the PRRB’s strict deadline for filing its final position paper, see Pl.’s
Mem. Supp. MSJ at 10; Def.’s Mem. Supp. MSJ at 7–8.1
Accordingly, for the reasons stated in Lutheran, 2016 WL 3882896, at *3–4, the
Hospital’s motion for summary judgment is DENIED, the Secretary’s cross-motion for
summary judgment or, in the alterative, for judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED,
and the Hospital’s complaint is DISMISSED.
SO ORDERED
/S/ Frederic Block______________
FREDERIC BLOCK
Senior United States District Judge
Brooklyn, New York
February 2, 2017

Although the complaint in this case was filed before Lutheran’s pleadings
in Lutheran I & II, the summary judgment motions in Lutheran I & II were fully
briefed before the parties moved for judgment on the pleadings here. Neither party
has filed anything in this matter since submitting its dispositive motion on April
20, 2016.
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