To Consumers Served by the N.C. Innovations Waiver, Their Families and Legal Guardians:
Federal District Court Judge Louise Flanagan will hold a hearing to consider the proposed settlement of the class action case titled
L.S. v. Wos, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Case # 5:11-CV-354.
Monday, April 6, 2015
1:30 pm
Federal Courthouse
413 Middle Street
New Bern, NC 28560
This Hearing is open to the public.
Note that you will need to show photo identification to enter the federal courthouse. In addition, cell phones are not permitted inside the courthouse.
Objections to the proposed settlement must be mailed no later than Wednesday, March 11, 2015. See below for further information on objecting to the proposed settlement.
History of the Case
L.S. et al. v. Wos et al. is a federal lawsuit filed in July 2011. In 2012, this case was certified by the Court as a class action lawsuit on behalf of certain participants in the N.C.
Innovations Waiver. In this lawsuit, the Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants have not provided sufficient notices and hearing rights regarding Innovations Waiver services as required by the federal Medicaid statute and by the due process clause of the U.S.
Constitution. The Defendants deny those allegations.
The lawyers representing the parties have reached a Settlement Agreement to settle the lawsuit. In reaching the Settlement Agreement, neither Defendant is admitting any wrongdoing, but the parties
all wish to avoid further litigation while clarifying the due process rights for all N.C. Innovations Waiver participants. The Court plans to approve the Settlement Agreement unless a good reason is given not to do so. If the Settlement Agreement is approved
by the Court, it will apply to all participants in the N.C. Innovations Waiver.
The Settlement Agreement includes detailed description of the steps that will be taken to:
• Ensure that Innovations Waiver participants are empowered to request the services they want to request, in the amount and for the length of time they want to request them;
• Clarify that the Support Needs Matrix will be used as a guideline and not as a binding limit for certain N.C. Innovations services;
• Clarify and explain the due process rights of N.C. Innovations Waiver participants;
• Inform N.C. Innovations Waiver participants of their rights and responsibilities under the Waiver.
Right to Object
Any class member has the right to object to this proposed Settlement Agreement. However, no class member has the right to exclude himself or herself from being bound by the settlement if it is
approved by the court.
You may
review the proposed Settlement Agreement here or by visiting the Civil Clerk's office, US Courthouse, 413 Middle Street, New Bern, NC 28560.
You may file written objections to the dismissal by mailing your reasons for objection to the Clerk of Court at US Courthouse, 413 Middle Street, New Bern, NC 28560 no later than March 11, 2015.
If you wish to file evidence to support your objections, you must file the evidence in writing by that date. You also have the right to object to the Settlement Agreement in person at a hearing that will be held at 1:30 p.m. o'clock on April 6, 2015. The hearing
will take place in Courtroom, US Courthouse, 413 Middle Street, New Bern, NC, 28560.
Questions?
To ask questions of plaintiffs' attorneys about the case or the procedure for objecting to the dismissal, call toll free 1-877-235-4210 or write to John Rittelmeyer or Jennifer Bills, Attorneys
at Law, Disability Rights NC, 3724 National Drive, Suite 100, Raleigh, NC 27612.
