A federal judge has refused to dismiss the Cook County public guardian’s class action that targets a scandal-plagued psychiatric hospital, accused of mistreating children in the custody of the state.
Public Guardian Charles Golbert filed the suit as a representative of seven children the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services placed at Aurora Chicago Lakeshore Hospital between 2017 and 2018. Named defendants include Lakeshore, its parent company Signature, company employees and executives, as well as several DCFS officers and employees.
In March 2021, U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland issued several orders largely rejecting motions to dismiss claims against individual defendants and against Lakeshore. In an opinion issued about a year later, on Feb. 28, she rejected another motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The complaint had been amended to name Dr. Soon Kim, Signature president and CEO, as an individual defendant, while also leveling allegations regarding the company’s structure, Kim’s responsibilities and the hospital network.
Unchanged from the original complaint were allegations that many Chicago-area hospitals wouldn’t accept DCFS patients because the agency “developed a reputation” for keeping children hospitalized longer than was medically beneficial, then failed to promptly pay. Lakeshore, “due to its own financial pressures,” admitted those children, but “as a result of Lakeshore’s limited funds and aggressive management by Signature, its children’s psychiatric hospital lacked the proper facilities and staff to safely operate.”
Golbert further said “Signature and Kim owned, directed, controlled and managed” the several hospitals, Rowland said, and that “network-wide policies and practices failed to provide a safe setting for patients and allowed for abuse and even death.”
Kim moved for dismissal on the grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction, saying he has lived in Michigan for 40 years, makes only a few trips to Illinois to visit family and doesn’t personally manage any of his business’ Illinois activities. Signature moved to dismiss by arguing Golbert’s allegations are unsubstantial.
Rowland rejected Kim’s arguments, saying a decision over whether he actually managed Signature’s Illinois affairs is a factual dispute suitable for trial, not dismissal, and his “high-level managerial role at Signature” gives weight to Golbert’s allegations. She also noted the plaintiffs have a strong interest in pursuing relief in Illinois.
“Viewed in totality,” Rowland wrote, “the facts suggest that, even if Kim did not manage Signature’s Illinois-based facility, he made corporate management decisions that were purposefully directed at all Signature entities, including Chicago Lakeshore Hospital.”
Kim further argued he couldn’t be held liable for acting under color of state law, but Rowland said her earlier opinion established Signature and Lakeshore “took on a traditionally exclusive state function in their treatment of DCFS children” and that the allegations of Kim’s high-level control of Signature mean Golbert also alleged Kim performed a public function.
Among allegations speaking to Kim’s direct involvement are claims he “refused to allow Chicago Lakeshore Hospital to install video surveillance cameras, subjecting plaintiffs (to) security risks; and that, even after learning about abuses at the Children’s Hospital, Kim failed to take any actions to stop the abuse.”
Rowland further said Golbert’s complaint plausibly accuse Kim of knowing of the alleged constitutional violations, that he had the chance to stop such conduct ad that there was an agreement to engage in those violations “as well as overt acts of concealment.” Kim also failed to convince Rowland to dismiss Golbert’s state law claims for conspiracy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Signature challenged Golbert’s addition of claims concerning other hospitals in its network, saying he seeks to hold the company liable for corporate management and not direct treatment of DCFS minors. However, Rowland said “the new allegations simply set forth greater details regarding Signature’s corporate structure and provide a clearer picture of how Signature, in performing its public function through Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, became underfunded and pressured to render unconstitutionally deficient care to the DCFS minors.”
Golbert, on behalf of the patients’ class, is represented in the action by attorneys Scott R. Drury, Arthur Loevy, Jon Loevy and Mariah Garcia, of the firm of Loevy & Loevy, of Chicago.
Aurora Chicago Lakeshore, Signature and various other defendants have been represented by attorneys Michael E. Prangle, Sabina Babel, Matthew J. Kaminski and Daria Porta, of the firm of Hall Prangle & Schoonveld, of Chicago; and attorneys Craig C. Martin, Matt D. Basil and Laura L. Norris, of Wilkie Farr & Gallagher, of Chicago.