A/74037276.1 

Richard Spitaleri, Jr., Esq. 

BINGHAM MCCUTCHEN LLP 

399 Park Avenue 

New York, NY 10022 

(212) 705-7537 (Telephone) 

Attorneys for Defendants BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, Health Care Services Corporation 

and Dental Network of America 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY 

HACKENSACK DENTAL ASSOCIATES, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF ILLINOIS, 

HEALTH CARE SERVICES CORPORATION 

and DENTAL NETWORK OF AMERICA, 

Defendants. 

Civil Action No. ___________________ 

NOTICE OF REMOVAL

Document Electronically Filed 

TO: THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR 

THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY 

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Defendants BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, Health 

Care Services Corporation and Dental Network of America (collectively the “Defendants”), by 

and through their undersigned counsel, hereby remove this civil action pending in the Law 

Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County, Docket No. BER-L-1035-11 (the 

“State Court Action”) to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey pursuant 

to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332, 1441, and 1446. The grounds for removal are as follows: 

1. Pursuant to Rule 10.1(a) of the Local Civil Rules, the addresses of the named 

parties, are as follows: 

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a. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff Hackensack Dental Associates 

refers to the dental practice operated by Dr. Douglas Gelber, with a 

principal place of business at 214 State Street, Hackensack, New Jersey 

07601. See Compl. ¶ 1. Upon information and belief Dr. Gelber is a New 

Jersey citizen. 

b. Defendant Health Care Services Corporation (“HCSC”) is an Illinois 

corporation with a principal place of business at 300 E. Randolph Street, 

Chicago, Illinois 60601. See Compl. ¶ 2. 

c. Defendant BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois (“BCBSIL”) is an Illinois 

corporation with a principal place of business at 300 E. Randolph Street, 

Chicago, Illinois 60601. See Compl. ¶ 3. 

d. Defendant Dental Network of America (“DNoA”) has a principal place of 

business at Two TransAm Plaza Drive, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. See

Compl. ¶ 4. DNoA asks this court to take judicial notice that it recently 

moved its principal place of business to 701 East 22nd Street, Suite 300, 

Lombard, Illinois 60148. See www.dnoa.com. DNoA is a wholly-owned 

subsidiary of HCSC which, as set forth above, is an Illinois corporation 

with its principal place of business in Illinois. See Compl. ¶ 4. 

2. Plaintiff instituted the State Court Action by filing a summons and complaint. 

Defendants received a copy of the summons and complaint via hand-delivery on February 24, 

2011. A copy of the summons and complaint is attached hereto as Exhibit A. At the same time, 

Defendants also received written discovery requests from the Plaintiff including interrogatories, 

production requests and requests for admissions. 

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3. On March 24, 2011, the undersigned filed a Notice of Appearance in the Superior 

Court of New Jersey. A copy of the Notice of Appearance is attached hereto as Exhibit B. 

4. No other proceedings have been held in the Superior Court of New Jersey. The 

documents attached hereto as Exhibits A and B, along with a track assignment notice issued by 

the Superior Court which is attached hereto as Exhibit C, constitute all process, pleadings and 

orders received or filed by the Defendants in this case. 

5. A review of Plaintiff’s allegations and claims for damages in the complaint 

establishes that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.00. The gravamen of Plaintiff’s 

complaint is that the Defendants have fraudulently failed to pay Plaintiff for the “vast majority” 

of dental services provided by Plaintiff since 2009. See, e.g., Compl. ¶s 41, 47, 60. Among 

other things, Plaintiff claims that Defendants’ conduct constitutes common law fraud and a 

violation of New Jersey’s RICO statute. See Compl. at pp. 11, 15-17. Plaintiffs seek 

compensatory damages, punitive damages, treble damages, and costs of litigation including 

attorneys’ fees. See Compl. at pp. 11, 17. The value of Plaintiff’s claims, including its claims 

for treble damages, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees, exceeds $75,000. See Declaration of 

Timothy J. Custer, D.D.S., M.B.A. dated March 25, 2011, attached hereto as Exhibit D. 

6. As the foregoing reflects, this action could have originally been filed in this Court 

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332 in that it is a civil action between citizens of different states and 

the matter in controversy exceeds $75,000.00, exclusive of interest and costs. 

7. Because this Notice of Removal is filed within thirty days of service of the 

summons and complaint upon the Defendants, it is timely under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1446(b). 

8. Based on the foregoing, removal is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332(a) and 

1441(a). 

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EXHIBIT A 

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EXHIBIT B 

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EXHIBIT C 

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EXHIBIT D 

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EXHIBIT E 

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