ELDER ABUSE: RELIGIOUS CORPORATIONS
Little Company of Mary Hospital v. Superior Court (2008) 162 Cal.App.4th 261, 75 Cal.Rptr.3d 519
A man whose mother died while in the care and custody of a hospital owned by a tax-exempt religious corporation, filed an action for elder abuse against the hospital, seeking punitive damages. The hospital moved to strike the punitive damage, citing Code of Civil Procedure section 425.14, which provides that no claim for punitive damages may be made against a religious corporation unless a trial court first concludes that the plaintiff has evidence which “substantiates that he or she will meet the clear and convincing standard of proof” under Civil Code section 3294.
The plaintiff opposed the motion, relying upon the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Covenant Care, Inc. v. Superior Court (2004), 32 Cal.4th 771, which held that C.C.P. section 425.13, a statute imposing similar requirements in actions against health care providers, was inapplicable in elder abuse cases. The trial court denied the motion, finding that the rationale articulated in Covenant Care to exclude elder abuse-related punitive damages claims from the requirements of section 425.13 applied equally to claims against religious organizations. However, the court of appeal issued a writ of mandate directing the court to strike the punitive damage claim, holding that section 424.14 applies to claims for punitive damages against religious health care providers, even in the context of elder abuse actions:
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