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A Jefferson Parish jury is scheduled to decide on a class-action settlement Wednesday in the wrongful termination of nursing home owner Bob Dean Jr. of 843 patients in south Louisiana for Hurricane Ida.
Dean probably won’t show up, even if he gets the message. That’s because a Georgia judge last month filed a petition to appoint Dean’s wife, Karen Dean, as his emergency guardian, records show.
These records include medical evaluations that “support the conclusion that (Dean) is diagnosed with dementia, short-term memory issues, and bipolar disorder,” the court’s ruling said.
In Georgia, judges can name a guardian or conservator if they find that an adult is “insufficiently competent to make or communicate important decisions regarding the management of his or her property.” .”
The Sept. 26 order gives Karen Dean jurisdiction over her husband’s medical, contractual and legal matters. Bob Dean, 69, says the debt is at least $40 million. There is no deadline for the guardianship, a court official said.
How Georgia’s order will affect a hearing this week before 24th Judicial District Judge Michael Mentz is unclear.
Dean’s attorneys have long argued that Dean suffers from dementia, and has been reluctant to testify in an affidavit regarding the evacuation of seven south Louisiana nursing homes to a Parish warehouse. of Tangipahoa.
His attorneys are also fighting Dean’s appeal, based on the Georgia protective order. Forcing Dean to appear in a Jefferson Parish courtroom was “disturbing, embarrassing, embarrassing and overwhelming” for the former nursing home owner, they argued in a motion for a protective order.
“Dean’s health and finances are declining,” they said.
Attorneys for some of Dean’s former patients questioned the scandalous picture, saying it was an attempt to deflect responsibility for the damage he allegedly caused his patients to experience at home. depot in Independence.
Dean’s attorneys say he “will not be ready” after his dental surgery in April 2021, months before he launched the evacuation of his nursing home when Hurricane Ida arrived.
More than a dozen residents died in the aftermath of the evacuation, although coroners have classified only five of those deaths as “storm-related.” The records show that Dean, who was not present, ignored the workers’ pleas for help and that state health inspectors were trying to intervene.
Seven of Dean’s nursing homes were seized by lenders after state health officials revoked its operating licenses shortly after the evacuation. He rushed back to pay off the mountain of debt on the vacant homes. His attorneys cited $40 million in settlements related to those and other debts.
Dean also faces criminal charges related to the dangerous flight. Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office indicted him in June on eight counts of cruelty to the vulnerable, five counts of Medicaid fraud and two counts of obstruction of justice. judgment. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Advocates pushing for the settlement, led by attorney Rob Couhig, argue that it is a waste of time for chronically ill patients.
They say there are few items available in addition to insurance products estimated at $13 million to $15 million. More than 100 of Dean’s former patients have died since the storm, according to lawyers.
But attorneys for many of Dean’s former patients objected to the all-or-nothing settlement, calling it premature and saying Dean would have been released without it.
Morris Bart, whose firm includes many of Dean’s former patients or their families, opposes the proposed settlement, saying it ignores assets Dean may be hiding.
Bart talks about the $10.4 million that he says will be available from other insurance products and frozen bank accounts that Dean is trying to recover.
Staff writer Andrea Gallo contributed to this story.
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