The West Virginia Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision that cleared a senior living provider of wrongdoing that occurred under a previous community owner.
The estate of a deceased resident of an Ona, WV, long-term care community now operated by Canonsburg, PA-based Paramount Senior Living sued the provider for medical malpractice, claiming that the resident died as a result of wrongdoing, including substandard care. The alleged wrongful death, however, took place when Passage Midland Meadows Operations still operated the West Virginia building. At the time, the property was owned by real estate investment trust Welltower, which was not a party in the lawsuit, according to court records.
The state Supreme Court upheld a circuit court ruling in favor of Paramount, dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint alleging that Paramount was responsible as a successor corporation for alleged wrongful conduct of the previous operator.
“This court has adopted the general rule acknowledging that ‘the purchaser of all the assets of a corporation [is] not liable for the debts or liabilities of the corporation purchased,’ the verdict reads.
Paramount Senior Living did not respond to a McKnight’s Business Daily request for comment by the production deadline.
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