PLG’s Sweta Patel secured a complete defense victory after more than six years of litigation in a high-stakes healthcare billing dispute involving a self-insured public entity health plan. The case arose from a 2017 air ambulance transport for a Fresno Unified School District health plan member, for which Worldwide Aircraft Services, Inc. (“Jet ICU”) sought to recover fourteen times its original quote. The School District paid its Usual, Customary, and Reasonable rate for non-contracted services, but Jet ICU sought more than a million dollars by filing suit—effectively asserting a claim against public funds.
The defense team pursued a disciplined, strategic approach, successfully challenging multiple complaint iterations through demurrers and narrowing the case on appeal. The California Court of Appeal affirmed dismissal of Jet ICU’s implied contract and unjust enrichment claims, leaving only a quantum meruit theory. After Jet ICU’s fifth amended complaint added a “theft of services” claim seeking treble damages, the team secured dismissal on summary adjudication weeks before trial.
The trial proceeded in a bifurcated format, with the court first addressing threshold issues central to the School District’s Health Plan’s status and defenses. Following a bench trial on threshold issues, the court held that the School District’s Health Plan qualifies as a governmental entity entitled to governmental immunity and subject to the Government Claims Act. The court further found that Jet ICU failed to comply with the Act’s mandatory notice provisions—a failure fatal to its sole remaining claim. Judgment was entered for the defense.
PLG Partners Sweta Patel and Susan Metcalfe served as co-trial counsel. This outcome reinforces important protections for self-insured public entity health plans, confirming governmental immunity applies in such non-contracted billing disputes and that strict Government Claims Act compliance is essential.
The matter was also supported by PLG Partner Jonathan Allan Klein, who was an essential part of the litigation team over the course of the case’s more than six-year history. The PLG team also included Patricia Medina, Lauren Kerwin, and Susan Sajadi, with paralegal support from Keri Click.
