GOSHEN- The first class action lawsuit trial in Orange County Court in recent history, according to legal insiders, was won this week by the defense after about an hour of jury deliberations.
The suit, filed in 2018 by Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP of White Plains, against Sapphire Nursing Home in Goshen, had asked for $114 million in damages. The plaintiffs claimed that Sapphire failed to properly care for its residents and reduced staffing to unsafe levels.
Approximately 900 people were represented by the plaintiffs in a case presided over by Judge Craig Brown. Sapphire was represented by attorneys Caitlin Robin and Angela Thompson-Tinsley. A class action permits one or more plaintiffs to file and prosecute a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group.
“Plaintiff’s counsel alleged that Sapphire Nursing and Rehab at Goshen improperly diverted assets away from residents,” Robin said. “The nursing home feels vindicated after years of these false allegations, as the evidence showed overwhelminglythat ownership invested in the facility both to hire additional staff and improve the facility for the benefit of residents and staff. The jury summarily dismissed the claims in this action.”
Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber have three other class action suits pending against Sapphire.
<!–
–>
