Florida nursing home wins whistleblower lawsuit but not $400,000 in defense costs

by Jessica R. Towhey

A Florida nursing home is not entitled to nearly $400,000 in attorney’s fees despite prevailing against a former employee who filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging Medicare fraud, a US magistrate ruled. 

Former employee Delia Bell alleged that Cross Garden Care Center submitted claims to the US government for “unnecessary services, improperly characterizing the level of services needed, and improperly extending periods of service,” according to reporting by Bloomberg Law. She filed a qui tam — or whistleblower — suit in April 2016. However, a District Court judge granted a summary judgment win to Cross Garden in March 2021, saying that Bell had not proven the facility had filed false claims.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the decision in November 2021.

Following that, Cross Garden filed for approximately $375,000 in attorneys’ fees and approximately $8,000 in costs, according to Bloomberg.

Attorneys for Cross Garden Care Center and Bell did not respond to a request for comment from McKnights Long Term Care News. Despite the win, no one was available at the facility to comment.

In his ruling, US Magistrate Judge Anthony E. Porcelli said that Cross Garden was not entitled to fees because there was “insufficient evidence” to claim that Bell brought her case to harass the facility or that she “pursued the litigation with an improper purpose.” Indeed, the federal government investigated Bell’s allegations for three years under seal, and the investigation remains open, Porcelli wrote.

“The United States’ position suggests that the case was not wholly frivolous,” Porcelli wrote. “Therefore, although [Bell] did not ultimately succeed, [Bell’s] claims presented sufficient allegations to not be considered groundless.”

As McKnight’s recently reported, the federal government notched the second-highest number of False Claims Act settlements in history and judgments, many of them related to healthcare entities, in the last fiscal year.

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Florida nursing home wins whistleblower lawsuit but not $400,000 in defense costs