Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ared-4_16-cv-00624/USCOURTS-ared-4_16-cv-00624-14/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 190
Nature of Suit: Other Contract Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition For Removal--Other Contract

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

CENTRAL DIVISION 

BRIAN WHITLEY, Individually and 

on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated 

v. No. 4:16-cv-624-DPM 

BAPTIST HEALTH; BAPTIST HEALTH 

HOSPITALS; DIAMOND RISK 

INSURANCE LLC; CONTINENT AL 

CASUALTY COMPANY; ADMIRAL 

INSURANCE COMP ANY; ADMIRAL 

INDEMNITY COMP ANY; IRONSHORE 

INDEMNITY, INC.; and IRONSHORE 

SPECIALTY INSURANCE CO. 

ORDER 

PLAINTIFF 

DEFENDANTS 

1. Joint report on notice, NQ 147, appreciated. The parties' fruitful 

collaborations are obvious. 

2. The Court resolves the parties' few disagreements as noted in 

the attached mark-up of Baptist's redline of the notice, NQ 147-2. The 

Court agrees with Whitley about other Baptist facilities. Otherwise, the 

Court mostly adopts Baptist's suggestions with some tweaks. The 

scope of the "other sources" remains a fighting issue, which the Court 

will resolve in the next round of motions. Baptist must continue 

producing information about all of the individuals covered by 

Case 4:16-cv-00624-DPM Document 148 Filed 01/22/20 Page 1 of 7
Whitley's listed categories. They're in the class for now. All must get 

notice. But there's no need to get into these particulars in the notice. 

3. The Court notes Baptist's comment about the March discovery 

cutoff. The parties must do their best to stick to the schedule. Please 

continue to collaborate. And the Court is open to creative proposals, 

especially joint ones, to keep this older case on track for trial in 

September. 

So Ordered. 

D.P. Marshall Jr. 

United States District Judge 

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Case 4:16-cv-00624-DPM Document 148 Filed 01/22/20 Page 2 of 7
Case 4:16-cv-00624-DPM Document 147-2 Filed 01/10/20 Page 2 of 6 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

WESTERN DIVISION 

BRJAN WHITLEY, Individually and 

on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated PLAINTIFF 

v. Case No. 4: 16-cv-00624-DPM 

BAPTIST HEAL TH; BAPTIST HEALTH HOSPITALS; 

DIAMOND RISK INSURANCE, LLC; 

CONTINENTAL CASUALTY COMPANY; 

ADMIRAL INSURANCE COMPANY; 

ADMIRAL INDEMNITY COMPANY; 

IRONSHORE INDEMNITY, INC., and 

IRONSHORE SPECIALTY INSURANCE CO., DEFENDANTS 

IMPORTANT 

A federal court authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer. 

BERS OF THE FOLLOWING CLASS: 

All Arkansas residents who, since July 30, 2011, received any type of healthcare 

treatment from any Arkansas entity owned, controlled, or managed by Baptist Health or 

Baptist Health Hospitals; (i) the treatment was covered by valid, in network, health 

coverage that was underwritten, administered, or supported by (a) QualChoice of 

Arkansas, (b) Health Advantage, (c) Blue Cross Blue Shield, (d) Humana, (e) Aetna, or 

(f) UnitedHealthcare; (ii) Baptist submitted the charges for the treatment to the patient's 

health insurer for payment; (iii) Baptist accepted payment from the health insurer for 

the treatment; (iv) Baptist (itself or through its agents) sought payment for the treatment 

from sources other than the health insurer by maintaining or asserting hospital lien(s) for 

the treatment after accepting payment from the health insurer; and (v) the individual 

sustained damages. 

You received this Notice because YOU MAY BE A MEMBER OF THE CLASS. 

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(2)(B) and the Order of the Honorable D.P. 

Marshall Jr., United States District Court Judge dated September 13, 2019, the Court has 

certified this litigation as a class action on behalf of the above-defined class ("Class") and 

the Court has appointed Plaintiff and his Counsel as Class Representative and Class Counsel, 

respectively. , , . 1 ok. . A-tr~y ~. 

If you are receiving this noti63u may be a member of the Class. You may have a claim. 

Case 4:16-cv-00624-DPM Document 148 Filed 01/22/20 Page 3 of 7
Case 4:16-cv-00624-DPM Document 147-2 Filed 01/10/20 Page 3 of 6 

THIS NOTICE MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY. 

Pursuant to Federal Rule 23 and the Court's Order, you are hereby notified as follows: 

This notice is to inform you of the pendency of a class action and the certification of a plaintiff 

class in a lawsuit involving claims against Defendants Baptist Health, Baptist Health Hospitals, 

Diamond Risk Insurance LLC, Continental Casualty Company, Admiral Insurance Company, 

Admiral Indemnity Company, Ironshore Indemnity, Inc., and Ironshore Specialty Insurance 

Company. -------- ,_ •J..J A .. ,-~,...A tiv.> -rr; .-u...c..v-ut-". r;. e,e,p I 11V) I I'\ ,...,,. 1-,'.., r~ 7 I 

In summary, the L · 1gation is based on Plaintiffs allegations that Defendants (Baptist Health 

hospitals · ) accepted payment from one of six commercial health 

insurers - (a) Qua!Choice of Arkansas, (b) Health Advantage, (c) Blue Cross Blue Shield, (d) 

Humana, (e) Aetna, or (t) UnitedHealthcare - for your medical treatment and wrongfully sought 

payment for that treatment from sources other than health insurance by asserting or maintaining 

hospital liens. Plaintiff asserts that if Defendants (Baptist) accepted a contractually-reduced 

payment from one of the six health insurance carriers, Defendants were prohibited from 

ertin o maintaining hospital liens to seek payment for the full amount of the medical • 

services from ~ .. mm;e•" ot~ r than Jae-11th insurance •·wh ar )'Ol:lf third-party a1:1to accident ~ . . . . b' t, 

~i:@teetioR (PlP)-eo'!•era~eerPlaintiff has asserted claims for a violation of the 

Deceptive Trade Practices Act and breach of contract as a third-party beneficiary. 

Defendants deny Plaintiffs allegations and deny that they are liable for any wrongdoing. 

Defendants contend they complied with Arkansas statutory law controlling medical liens, 

Arkansas insurance regulations, and caselaw from the Arkansas Supreme Court, all of which 

govern the insurance provider agreements in the lawsuit. 

_L Do rvor "'-<:lcl, 

This notice is not in.fnu~d to be, and should not be construed as, an expression of any opinion 

of the Court o.r tRe parti'3/4rith respect to the truth of the allegations in the Litigation or the 

merits of the claims or the defenses asserted. The Court has not found any liability on the part of 

the Defendants. and the Plaintiff must prove the claims at issue. There is no monev available 

now. and there is no 1 uarantee there will be an ' recover '. 

~he mu ib of tire elttimror deferFS~ This notice is sent to advise you of the pendency of this 

action and your rights with respect to this action. 

COMMENCEMENT OF THE LITIGATION 

This Litigation was commenced on July 29, 2016, when Plaintiff Brian Whitley filed a class 

action petition in state court. The case was later removed to the Federal District Court where 

the case remains pending. 

THE RIGHTS OF CLASS MEMBERS 

(a) If you are a member of the Class described above, you have the following options: 

(1) You may remain a member of the Class. To remain a member of 

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Case 4:16-cv-00624-DPM Document 147-2 Filed 01/10/20 Page 4 of 6 

(2) 

the Class, you do not have to take any action. If you remain a 

member of the Class, you will be bound by any judgment in the 

action, whether favorable or unfavorable. As a member of the 

Class, you may share in the recovery, if any, and you will be 

barred from prosecuting your own claim. If judgment is rendered in 

favor of Defendants, Class members will be denied any recovery 

from this class action. You will automatically be considered a 

member of the Class, unless you request exclusion in accordance 

with the procedure set forth below. 

You may exclude yourself from the Class. Any member of the Class 

may be excluded, but only upon specific request. If you wish to be 

excluded from the Class, you must ask the Court to exclude you from 

the Litigation by mailing a signed letter requesting exclusion to: 

Baptist Arkansas Hospital Lien Class 

c/o Ed Gentle 

Gentle, Turner, Sexton & Harbison, LLC 

501 Riverchase Parkway East, Suite 100 

Hoover, AL 35244 

(b) If you file a request for exclusion as described in the evious paragraph, your request 

for exclusion must set forth your name, address and telep ne number, and the name and case 

number of the Litigation, Whitley v. Baptist Health et , Case No.: 4: l 6-CV-624 and state a 

clear intent to be excluded from the litigation. ~ equest must be postmarked by __ _ 

_ , 2020 [ 45 days after the date of the notice]. If your request for exclusion is timely mailed, 

you will be excluded from the Class. If excluded, you will not be bound by the results of the 

Litigation, and you will also not share in any recovery that benefits the Class. If you do 

not request exclusion, you will be represented by Plaintiff and their counsel, who have been 

appointed Class Representative and Class Counsel, respectively, by the Court. 

( c) By remaining in the Class, you will not subject yourself to any obligation to pay the costs 

of the Litigation. With respect to the Class members, all costs and expenses, including 

attorneys' fees, will be paid from any recovery obtained on behalf of the Class, as such 

payment may be approved and ordered by the Court. Class Counsel intends to ask the Court that 

all litigation and administrative expenses, as well as attorneys' fees, be deducted from the total 

recovery obtained on behalf of the Class, if any. In the event there is no recovery paid to the Class, 

no Class member will be responsible for paying any litigation or administrative expenses, or 

attorneys' fees to Class Counsel. You may enter an appearance through an attorney if you so 

desire. 

For a more detailed statement of the matters involved in this Litigation, you may refer to 

the pleadings and other papers filed in this action, which may be inspected as the Offices of the 

Clerk, United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas - Western Division, Richard 

Sheppard Arnold United States Courthouse, 500 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas 

72201, during regular business hours each day. 

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Additional questions pertaining to this litigation may be directed to any of the Co-Lead Class 

Counsel listed below. 

CO-LEAD CLASS COUNSEL; 

HENINGER GARRISON DA VIS LLC 

W. Lewis Garrison Jr. 

Jeffrey P. Leonard 

2224 First A venue North 

Birmingham, Alabama 35203 

Phone: 205-326-3336 

Fax: 205-326-3332 

jleonard@hgdlawfirm.com 

www.hgdlawfirm.com 

CAMPBELL & GROOMS, PLLC 

Donald K. Campbell, III 

Kendell W. Grooms 

8500 West Markham, Suite 105 

Little Rock, AR 72205 

Phone(501)313-4967 

don@campbellgrooms.com 

kendel@campbellgrooms.com 

www .campbellgrooms.com 

DATE OF NOTICE: ____ , 20_ 

BAILEY & OLIVER LAW FIRM 

Sach D. Oliver 

Frank H. Bailey 

T. Ryan Scott 

GeoffD. Hamby 

3606 Southern Hills Boulevard, Ste. 200 

Rogers, AR 72758 

Phone: (479) 202-5200 

Fax: (479) 202-5605 

rscott@baileyoliverlawfirm.com 

www.baileyoliverlawfirm.com 

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT OR 

THE COURT CLERK'S OFFICE FOR INFORMATION. 

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