Class Notice - Active Cases

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF ORANGE – CIVIL COMPLEX
Coordination Proceeding
Special Title [Rule 1550 (b)]
Judicial Council Coordinated
Proceeding No. 4716
ST. JOSEPH HEALTH SYSTEM
MEDICAL INFORMATION CASES
Assigned for all purposes to
Honorable Kim G. Dunning
DEANNA DEBAEKE, DANNA
GRAEWINGHOLT, JEANNIE HAMBRIC,
LINDA KERKOW, LOBA MOON, and
DESIREE ORTIZ, individually and on
behalf of all others similarly situated,
Dept. CX 104
NOTICE OF PENDENCY
OF CLASS ACTION
Plaintiffs,
vs.
ST. JOSEPH HEALTH SYSTEM, et al.,
Defendants.
YOU have been identified as a patient of St. Joseph Health System 1 or their affiliates
whose medical information was made publicly accessible on the Internet by
St. Joseph Health System at some point from January 1, 2011 to February 28, 2012.2
Please read this Notice from the Orange County Superior Court.
Court rulings and legal briefs can be found on the
Court-approved website at www.sjhsdatabreachclassaction.com.
DATED:
April 30, 2015
PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY
This Notice has been authorized by the Orange County Superior Court. It contains important
information as to your right to participate in a class action and your right to elect not to be
included in the class action. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.
1
2
The following entities are collectively referred to herein as “St. Joseph Health System” or “Defendants”: St. Joseph Health
System, Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, St. Jude Medical Center, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Santa
Rosa Memorial Hospital, and Petaluma Valley Hospital Auxiliary.
Usted ha sido identificado como un paciente cuya información médica fue hecho accesible por St. Joseph Health System o sus
afiliados en Internet en algún momento desde 1 Enero 2011 hasta 28 Febrero 2012. Si quiere una versión de este aviso en
español, llame (949) 720-1288.
Questions? Call 1-877-219-9782
SJHNOT2
Introduction
On February 13, 2012, Defendant St. Joseph Health System mailed you and approximately 31,801 patients a
letter that stated in part “[o]n February 8, 2012 we discovered we accidently made your personal health
information accessible to disclosure by allowing outside search engines to have access to certain files in our
internal computer network.”
The types of information varied by patient, but included some combination of name, date of birth, age, height,
weight, blood pressure, language, ethnicity, race, sex, list of diagnoses, list of active medications, list of
allergies, lab results, hospital admission dates, hospital unit numbers, hospital account numbers, patients’
advanced directive status, patients’ smoking status, dates or order numbers of Computerized Physician Order
Entry (“CPOE”) reports, status of patients’ discharge instructions, and/or status of patients’ requests for
electronic copies of records. The information made accessible did not include financial information, such as
social security numbers or other financial data.
Six separate class actions were filed between February 17, 2012, and May 1, 2012, related to St. Joseph Health
System’s alleged violation of the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, California Civil Code
§§ 56 et seq. (“CMIA”) and other claims. Those cases were deemed complex and coordinated before the
Honorable Judge Kim G. Dunning in Orange County.
Plaintiffs sought certification of a class of all involved individuals under the nominal damages provision of the
CMIA (see Civil Code § 56.36(b)) (“CMIA Claim”). On December 5, 2014, the Court certified a Class
(“class certification”) of all involved individuals on the CMIA Claim, and you are receiving this Notice as a
result. Class certification means that all 31,802 plaintiffs will now litigate together against St. Joseph Health
System on the CMIA Claim. Class members can recover no more than $1,000 each under the CMIA Claim.
This class action does not seek to recover damages for any harms or losses suffered individually by class
members, such as actual damages (including past or future economic losses), pain and suffering, or any other
legally cognizable harm. The Court still has to determine whether Defendants are liable and, if so, what
payments, if any, Defendants will pay you as a result. Defendants deny any wrongdoing, including any
violation of the CMIA, and any alleged damages.
Your legal rights may be affected, and you have a choice to make by June 15, 2015. Lawyers for the Class
must prove the claims at a trial set to start on July 6, 2015. If money or benefits are obtained following the trial
and you have not requested to be excluded from the class action, you will be notified about your rights to a
share of any benefits the Court may award to the Class. These rights and options are summarized below and
fully explained in this Notice.
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS AT THIS POINT:
DO
NOTHING
Stay in this lawsuit.
certain rights.
Await the outcome.
Share in possible benefits.
Give up
By doing nothing, you keep the possibility of getting money or other benefits that may come
from a trial. However, you give up any rights to sue on your own about the same legal claims
presented in this lawsuit.
Get out of the lawsuit. Get no benefits from it. Keep the right to file your own lawsuit.
ASK TO BE
EXCLUDED
If you ask to be excluded from the Class and money or benefits are later awarded, you will not
be eligible to share in those benefits, but you will not give up any rights to sue on your own
about the same legal claims presented in this lawsuit. If you wish to exclude yourself
(“opt-out”) from the lawsuit you must follow the directions outlined in response to
question 6 below.
Questions? Call 1-877-219-9782
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1.
Why did I receive this Notice?
You have received this Notice because Defendants’ records show that you were a patient of St. Joseph Health
System and/or their affiliates whose medical information was made publicly accessible on the Internet by
St. Joseph Health System at some point from January 1, 2011 to February 28, 2012.
2.
What is a class action?
A class action is a lawsuit where one or more persons sue not only for themselves, but also for other people who
have similar claims. These other people are known as Class Members. In a class action, one court resolves the
issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class. The Honorable Judge
Kim G. Dunning of the Orange County Superior Court is presiding over this class action. Judge Dunning has
not made any determination about who is right or wrong in this lawsuit.
3.
What is the status of the litigation?
Six separate class actions were filed between February 17, 2012, and May 1, 2012, related to Defendants’
alleged violation of the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, California Civil Code §§ 56 et seq.
(“CMIA”). Those cases were deemed complex and coordinated before Hon. Kim G. Dunning in Orange
County. On December 5, 2012, Plaintiffs filed an Amended Master Complaint consolidating all six cases.
On December 5, 2014, the Court certified a class of all affected patients. The Court also appointed Daniel S.
Robinson of Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Shapiro Davis, Inc. and Jeremiah Frei-Pearson of Finkelstein,
Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP as co-lead counsel for the Class.
The parties have engaged in extensive discovery, including depositions of numerous Plaintiffs and other
witnesses and experts, and have exchanged interrogatories and requests for production of documents.
The Court has set a trial date of July 6, 2015, and additional discovery will begin shortly.
4.
Who is in the Class?
The Court ruled on December 5, 2014, that the Class is defined as follows: “All SJHS patients whose
confidential medical information was made publicly accessible on the Internet by Defendants at any point from
February 1, 2011 through February 28, 2012.” If you do nothing, you will automatically be deemed to be part
of the Class. Once the Court determines Defendants’ liability, if any, and the amount of damages they should
pay, if any, you may receive benefits from the action.
5.
What will happen next?
If you do nothing, you will automatically participate in the Class. If you want to exclude yourself, please refer
to Paragraph 6 below.
If you do not exclude yourself from the Class and the Court finds Defendants liable and awards damages, this
action will end (subject to any appeals), and you will receive the benefits awarded by the Court. You cannot
sue, continue to sue, or be party to any other lawsuit against Defendants regarding the same claims brought in
this case. It also means that all of the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you.
6.
How do I exclude myself from the Class?
This class action is limited to seeking nominal damages of no more than $1,000 for each Class member under
the CMIA Claim. This class action does not seek to recover for harms or losses suffered individually by Class
members, such as actual damages (including past or future economic losses), pain and suffering, or any other
Questions? Call 1-877-219-9782
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legally cognizable harm. If you wish to pursue claims and damages beyond the CMIA Claim against St. Joseph
Health System relating to the accessibility of your medical information on the Internet at some point from
January 1, 2011 to February 28, 2012, you should consult with other counsel and consider excluding yourself
from the Class. If you do not want to be a part of the Class for any reason, including that you want to keep the
right to sue or continue to sue Defendants on your own about the legal issues in this case or that could have
been brought in this case, then you must take the following steps to exclude yourself from this case: (1) you
must complete the Opt-out Statement attached to this Notice or prepare another written statement signed by you
that includes the heading “Opt-out Statement” and the words: “I opt out of the SJHS medical information class
action (JCCP 4716) and forego all rights to recover money or benefits as a part of that case.”; (2) you must
include your printed name, address, and telephone number on the Opt-out Statement; and (3) you must mail the
Opt-out Statement to counsel below via First Class United States Mail postmarked by June 15, 2015:
SJHS Class Action Opt-Out
Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Shapiro Davis, Inc.
19 Corporate Plaza Drive
Newport Beach, California 92660
You may opt-out by following the steps identified above. You may NOT opt-out by any other means, including
via telephonic messages, internet postings or email correspondence.
7.
If I don’t exclude myself from the Class, can I sue Defendants for the same thing later?
No. If you do not exclude yourself, you give up any right to bring your own individual lawsuit against
Defendants under federal and state law with regard to the claims brought in this case or that could have been
brought in this case. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that case immediately to see if this
Notice will affect your other case. Remember, the exclusion deadline is June 15, 2015.
8.
If I exclude myself, can I get money from this lawsuit?
No. If you exclude yourself, you will not receive any money or other benefits from this lawsuit in the event such
money or benefits are awarded. But, by excluding yourself, you may sue, continue to sue, or be part of a
different lawsuit against Defendants regarding these same claims.
9.
Do I have a lawyer in this case?
The law firms of Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Shapiro Davis, Inc., 19 Corporate Plaza Drive, Newport Beach,
California and Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP of White Plains, New York, have been
designated as Lead Class Counsel to represent you and the other Class Members. Attorneys Eric A. Grover,
Gregg A. Farley, Neil B. Fineman, and Robert Chaiken were also appointed, and represent you, as Class
Counsel in the case. You will not be charged separately for these lawyers. Their fees will be paid from the
verdict, if any, against Defendants. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you must exclude
yourself from this lawsuit and you may hire one at your own expense.
10.
How will the lawyers be paid?
At the appropriate time, Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve payment to them from Defendants for
attorneys’ fees and costs, if successful at trial. The fees would pay Class Counsel for work that they reasonably
have performed and costs they reasonably have incurred in this action, including filing briefs, engaging in
discovery, investigating the facts, and attending court conferences and mediations. Costs will also likely
include the use of an administrator to help facilitate notice, class paperwork and payments.
Questions? Call 1-877-219-9782
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