Senior Partner James Feldesman Breaks New Ground in Two Federal Appeals Wins

Firm co-founder and senior partner James Feldesman had a busy (and fruitful) winter this year.  He preserved two trial court victories for Feldesman Tucker clients and, in doing so, convinced two different federal appellate courts to announce new and significant principles of law.

First, in El Rio Santa Cruz Neighborhood Health Center, Inc., v. Dep't of Health and Human Servs., 396 F.3d 1265 (D.C. Cir. 2005), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a decision requiring the federal government to assume the liability of a group of health center obstetricians in a state court wrongful death suit, thus saving the obstetricians and the health center from a possible seven-figure uninsured judgment.  Mr. Feldesman successfully argued that the government's existing method of providing Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA") coverage to health center physicians is arbitrary, capricious, and otherwise contrary to law.  The Court agreed that it is fundamentally irrational, as well as inconsistent with 42 U.S.C. § 233, for the government to wait until a physician is sued before deciding whether that physician is entitled to FTCA coverage.  The Court further agreed that the government cannot deny FTCA coverage to a contract health care provider if that provider is individually accountable to the health center for performance under his or her professional services contract.

Second, in Rio Grande Community Health Center, Inc. v. Rullan, 397 F.3d 56 (1st Cir. 2005), the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld a trial court's issuance of an injunction requiring the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to make Medicaid supplemental, or "wraparound", payments to health centers that do not receive full reimbursement from managed care organizations.  The decision is significant not only because it preserves the health centers' rights to payments, but also because of the legal ground it breaks in limiting the ability of states and localities to avoid being held accountable for their unlawful acts in federal court.

 Mr. Feldesman was assisted in each of these cases by Feldesman Tucker attorneys Kathy Ghiladi and Robert Graham .