Jim Braze, an attorney in Gordon & Rees' Health Care Group, obtained a unanimous defense verdict for his client, a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE). This is the second consecutive defense verdict for the Health Care group.

The allegations began when the 91 year old woman suffered a fall 6 weeks after transferring to the RCFE facility. The patient was then moved between hospice care, and an acute care facility. When she was returned to the RCFE, her condition had declined and her status was no longer an appropriate placement under application regulations for the RCFE. However, the family insisted on her return to the RCFE. The RCFE then obtained authorization from the Department of Social Services to evict the patient. She was moved to another RCFE where she died 30 days later.

Plaintiffs alleged their 91 year old mother suffered "transfer trauma" and plaintiffs sued the RCFE for negligence, fraud and elder abuse. Plaintiffs asked the jury to award $2.5 million at trial. The plaintiffs further asserted the last move was not motivated by a change in their mother's condition but by a desire to get rid of the troublesome family who had been harassing and verbally abusing the RCFE staff.

The jury deliberated for three days before returning the defense verdict on all allegations.