Kuntz v. Kaiser Foundation Hospital (Apr. 12, 2021, C087967) __ Cal.App.5th __
Edward Kuntz’s estate and immediate family sued Kaiser for elder abuse, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and wrongful death. Kaiser petitioned to stay the action and compel arbitration, asserting that Kuntz had been enrolled in its health plan pursuant to his wife’s employment under a California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Agreement and that an arbitration provision in that plan required binding arbitration. The trial court granted Kaiser’s petition as to the elder abuse cause of action, stayed the other causes of action, and ultimately entered judgment in favor of Kaiser. Plaintiffs appealed.
The Court of Appeal affirmed. Plaintiffs had argued that, under the Secondary Evidence Rule (Evid. Code, § 1523, subd. (a)), Kaiser was required to (but did not) produce Kuntz’s actual enrollment form. The court disagreed, holding that the enrollment form would prove only that Kuntz sought to enroll in the health plan while Kaiser’s evidence of Kuntz’s membership history records and CalPERS’s practices of advising members that the Kaiser plan required binding arbitration of claims were adequate to prove Kuntz’s enrollment at the relevant times and that a valid arbitration agreement existed. The court also held that Kaiser did not need to comply with the arbitration notice requirements of Health and Safety Code section 1363.1 because CalPERS administers its own enrollment process using its own forms. Kaiser is not allowed to substitute its own enrollment forms or to modify CalPERS’s forms. Kuntz’s enrollment materials were therefore disseminated by CalPERS pursuant to Government Code section 22863, and thus were deemed to satisfy the notice requirements of Health and Safety Code section 1363.1 pursuant to Government Code section 22869.
