New CA Supreme Court Arbitration Case

Does Ruiz v. Podolsky (2010) 50 Cal.4th 838 apply and require arbitration of
wrongful-death claims premised on custodial neglect in skilled nursing facilities?

California Supreme Court decided this important issue on August 14, 2025:

Holland v. Silverscreen Healthcare, Inc. (2025) __ Cal.5th __, 2025 WL 2349863: The California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal’s decision that had ordered the plaintiff parents’ wrongful-death claim to arbitration under MICRA Code of Civil Procedure section 1295 and Ruiz v. Podolsky (2010) 50 Cal.4th 838 (Ruiz), concluding that the claim sounded in professional negligence (and, alternatively, lacked sufficient specificity). The California Supreme Court disagreed, concluding that Ruiz applies only to medical-malpractice disputes about the rendering of medical services, not to wrongful-death claims premised on custodial neglect in skilled nursing facilities, and it remanded the case to permit plaintiffs to am...

n Podcast Episode #10 of Trial Alchemy™, I interviewed ABOTA member and outstanding medical malpractice defense lawyer Dominique Pollara, Esq. of Sacramento. Listen today to learn from a trial expert.     

Click here to listen to complete podcast.
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Do well and be well.  

Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
Business, Insurance Bad Faith, Real Property and Tort Litigation. 
Master Lawyer Mentoring™: Trial training & associate training
Podcaster: Trial Alchemy™
Publisher: California Case Summaries™
CA attorney since 1980. ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President San Diego County Bar Assn., SD ABOTA Chapter
Phone: (619) 990-4312.
Email: [email protected]

The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, commonly known as MICRA, has been on the books in California since 1975. One of its provisions limits non-economic damage awards to a maximum of $250,000. You'd think that California courts would have determined all of the possible MICRA issues, but that's not the case. Just last month, the California Supreme Court issued a new decision regarding MICRA that I discuss in the video above.

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