Last week, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, upheld the dismissal of the criminal case relating to COVID-19 fatalities in a senior living community in March 2020, which could have had significant impacts to the relationship between administrators and regulators. The court ruled that the prosecution used transcripts of interviews that California Department of Social Services conducted with the administrator and that participation in those interviews was de facto mandatory, and therefore the testimony was “coerced” and used by the prosecution against the defendants.
In October 2023, a trial court dismissed a case against an operator and three company representatives relating to COVID-19 fatalities in a senior living community in March 2020. The trial court ruled that the prosecution used transcripts of interviews that DSS conducted with the administrator and that participation in those interviews was de facto mandatory, and therefore the testimony was “coerced” and used by the prosecution against the defendants. The Los Angeles District Attorney appealed this ruling.
In April, Argentum filed an amicus brief with our State Partner, the California Assisted Living Association (CALA) and the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA). Our brief argued that assisted living administrators are required to cooperate with DSS investigations and that if prosecutors can bring criminal charges against assisted living administrators based on what those administrators say in interviews with DSS, it will have a profound negative impact on the assisted living industry. Our brief refers to a letter submitted by the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) expressing support for an open collaborative relationship between regulators and operators and concerns about how a ruling that would impact this relationship.