Opinion ID: 6491398
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: physician members’ standing to sue in their own right

Text: In opposition to HMSA’s contention that the first prong of the Hunt test is not satisfied because HMA’s members are required to first exhaust their administrative remedies and then arbitrate their claims, HMA challenges the enforceability of the arbitration clause and the scope of arbitration, asserting that the claims fall outside the arbitration clause. HMA additionally argues that: Standing is a prerequisite to claim adjudication, regardless of what forum is used to adjudicate the claim. In other words, if [HMA] did not have standing, it could not bring a claim in any forum. HMA’s ability to pursue representative claims on behalf of its members is determined by reference to the standing of its members to bring a claim. Hunt, 432 U.S. at 343[, 97 S.Ct. 2434]. And the members’ standing, in turn, depends on whether they have' a sufficient stake in the controversy, which they clearly do[.] Whether they are required to exhaust administrative remedies and to plead the same ... is an entirely distinct issue. The [c]ourt erred in failing to recognize this vital distinction. Consequently, its holding that the first Hunt test is not met here must be reversed. Stated differently, HMA contends that: HMSA mischaracterizes the holding in Hunt to suggest that an association cannot assert claims on its members’ behalf in court if its members may not do so in court. HMSA distorts the language of the first prong of the Hunt test, which requires nothing more than that the individual members have an injury sufficient to pursue their claims. . (Emphasis in original.) Inasmuch as we have concluded that the claims asserted by the plaintiffs are not within the contemplated scope of the arbitration clause, the physician-plaintiffs have standing to sue in their own right. Thus, Hunt’s first element is met.