CABLE HUSTON SECURES APPELLATE VICTORY FOR OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY DIRECTOR PATRICK ALLEN

Wed 3 Jun, 2020 / by Cable Huston / Verdicts & Cases

Cable Huston recently won a major victory in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for client Patrick Allen, the current director of the Oregon Health Authority.  The ruling ordered the dismissal of Director Allen from a long-standing lawsuit between the Oregon Health Authority and FamilyCare, Inc. arising from FamilyCare’s exit from the coordinated care market in Oregon in 2018.  Cable Huston’s appellate team included partners Jon W. Monson and Nicole M. Swift and associate Nikki A.W. Abercrombie.    

In the lower court case, FamilyCare had asserted a $50 million First Amendment retaliation claim under Section 1983 against Director Allen personally, related to the negotiation between FamilyCare and OHA in late 2018 of FamilyCare’s proposed rates for the following year.   The district court denied Director Allen’s motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of the claim prior to trial.  Cable Huston’s appellate team, which was retained to represent Director Allen in seeking to overturn that ruling, filed an immediate interlocutory appeal on Director Allen’s behalf. 

Last month, the Ninth Circuit issued its unanimous ruling reversing the lower court’s denial of summary judgment and ordering Director Allen to be dismissed from the case.  The Ninth Circuit found that Director Allen acted appropriately during rate-setting negotiations between OHA and FamilyCare in late 2018 and that Director Allen was entitled to qualified immunity from being personally sued by FamilyCare.  The Ninth Circuit’s decision is available at the following link:  https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/memoranda/2020/04/30/18-35593.pdf.