Judge: Jon R. Takasugi, Case: 23STCV17474, Date: 2024-04-29 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23STCV17474    Hearing Date: April 29, 2024    Dept: 17

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA 

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 

DEPARTMENT 17 

TENTATIVE RULING

Hospice Source’s motion for assignment order is GRANTED.

            On 11/8/2023, Plaintiff Hospice Source, LLC filed suit against Silver Years Healthcare, Inc., Silver Years Healthcare, Caring Love Hospice, Inc., Sweet Touch Hospice Inc., and Silver Years Home Health (collectively, Defendants/Judgment Debtors), alleging: (1) breach of contract; (2) breach of implied in fact contract; (3) open book account; and (4) account stated.

            Now, Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor Hospice Source, LLC (Hospice Source) moves for an order assigning to it the interest, if any, of Defendants/Judgment Debtors.

            The motion is unopposed.

Factual Background

On March 8, 2024, judgment was entered in favor of Hospice Source against, inter alia, Defendant/Judgment Debtor Silver Years Healthcare Inc., Silver Years Healthcare, a corporation, Caring Love Hospice Inc., Sweet Touch Hospice Inc., and Silver Years Home Health, a corporation in the sum of $65,789.69 (the Judgment).

Discussion

            Hospice Source seeks an assignment of the interest, if any, of Defendant’s, whether derived from Medicare, Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Aetna Medicare, Alignment Health Plan, Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Co., Anthem Blue Cross Partnership Plan, Aspire Health, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, Brand New Day, CCA Health California, CCHP (Chinese Community Health Plan), Central Health Medicare Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Humana, Imperial Health Plan of California Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare of California, Providence Medicare Advantage Plans, SCAN Health Plan, Sharp Health Plan, UnitedHealthcare, Wellcare, Wellcare by Health Net, Western Health Advantage, or any other private or public payor, to the extent necessary to satisfy the judgment entered in this action in full, will come on for hearing.

CCP § 708.510(a) provides for assignment orders and states: 

“(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, upon application of the judgment creditor on noticed motion, the court may order the judgment debtor to assign to the judgment creditor or to a receiver appointed pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 708.610) all or part of a right to payment due or to become due, whether or not the right is conditioned on future developments, including but not limited to the following types of payments: (1) Wages due from the federal government that are not subject to withholding under an earnings withholding order; (2) Rents; (3) Commissions; (4) Royalties; (5) Payments due from a patent or copyright; (6) Insurance policy loan value.

An assignment order is a placeholder for a judgment creditor, and in order to obtain the requested relief the judgment creditor need only establish the potential liability of the third person obligor to the judgment debtor, whether existing now or which may come existence later based on the occurrence of some unspecified development in the future. (Greenbaum v. Islamic Republic of Iran (2008) 782 F.Supp.2d 893, 894-895, 896-897.)

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 42, Chapter IV, Subchapter B, Part 424, Subpart F, §424.73 [Prohibition of assignment of claims by providers.] provides:

 (a) Basic prohibition. Except as specified in paragraph (b) of this section, Medicare does not pay amounts that are due a provider to any other person under assignment, or power of attorney, or any other direct payment arrangement.

 (b) Exceptions to the prohibition — (1) Payment to a government agency or entity. Subject to the requirements of the Assignment of Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3727), Medicare may pay a government agency or entity under an assignment by the provider. [¶] (2) Payment under assignment established by court order. Medicare may pay under an assignment established by, or in accordance with, the order of a court of competent jurisdiction if the assignment meets the conditions set forth in §424.90.

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 42, Chapter IV, Subchapter B, Part 424, Subpart F, §424.90 [Court ordered assignments: Conditions and limitations.] provides:

 (a) Conditions for acceptance. An assignment or reassignment established by or in accordance with a court order is effective for Medicare payments only if—

(1) Someone files a certified copy of the court order and of the executed assignment or reassignment (if it was necessary to execute one) with the intermediary or carrier responsible for processing the claim; and

(2) The assignment or reassignment— (i) Applies to all Medicare benefits payable to a particular person or entity during a specified or indefinite time period; or (ii) Specifies a particular amount of money, payable to a particular person or entity by a particular intermediary or carrier.

            The exemptions found in the Enforcement of Judgments Law, Code of Civil Procedure §680.010 et seq., may be claimed only by natural person judgment debtors, i.e., not by partnerships, corporations or other entities. (CCP §§695.010(a) and 703.020(a) [“The exemptions provided by this chapter apply only to property of a natural person.”]5 ; but see Fisch, Spiegler, Ginsburg & Ladner v. Appel (1992) 10 Cal.App.4th 1810, 1811 [Trustees of revocable living trust entitled to claim declared homestead exemption.].) The earnings of a self-employed judgment debtor are not subject to exemption under the Wage Garnishment Law. (Moses v. DeVersecy (1984) 157 Cal.App.3d 1071, 1073-1074.) Thus, where the judgment debtor is self-employed, and not an “employee” subject to a wage garnishment, there is no exemption available for earnings.

            Here, the Court finds legal authority provides for the assignment orders requested, and no exemption applies. The lack of opposition is considered a concession on the merits.

            Based on the foregoing, Hospice Source’s motion for assignment order is granted.

It is so ordered.

Dated:  April    , 2024

   Hon. Jon R. Takasugi
   Judge of the Superior Court

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the court at smcdept17@lacourt.org by 4 p.m. the day prior as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  If a party submits on the tentative, the party’s email must include the case number and must identify the party submitting on the tentative.  If all parties to a motion submit, the court will adopt this tentative as the final order.  If the department does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on the tentative and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion may be placed off calendar.  For more information, please contact the court clerk at (213) 633-0517.