Mike Northrup Wins Appeal in Fraud and Conspiracy Case
Sep 21, 2007 ⋅ Category: GAL
Mike Northrup, Charlie Frazier and Wendy Duprey overturned a $6.1 million verdict in a fraud and conspiracy case, in an opinion delivered on September 21, 2007 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Several major insurance companies sued the Firm's clients, a chiropractic services provider, its executives, many of its chiropractors, and several related diagnostic entities, claiming fraud and conspiracy through alleged over-billing and rendition of unnecessary medical expenses. The expenses were incurred by automobile accident victims who had personal injury claims against persons insured by the plaintiff insurers.
The Fifth Circuit held that the insurers failed to prove they had relied on any of the medical expenses because they presented no witness, including any adjuster who had handled any of the thousands of subject claims, to testify that an an adjuster relied in any way on the medical expense or evaluations. Independently, the court of appeals questioned the validity of the insurers' disgorgement measure of damages, and held that the insurers presented no evidence of what the defendants obtained through fraud, as opposed to undisputed legitimate provision of health care services. Charlie Frazier argued the appeal on behalf of the Firm's clients.