Mabudian v. Beaver Medical Group CA4/1

Filed 8/20/24 Mabudian v. Beaver Medical Group CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

MOHSEN MABUDIAN, et al., D083783

Plaintiffs and Respondents,

v. (Super. Ct. No. CIVSB2133187)

BEAVER MEDICAL GROUP, P.C., et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Bernardino County, David S. Cohn, Judge. Affirmed. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Michael J. Holecek, Isabella R. Sayyah; Velkei Law, Steven Anthony Velkei and Christopher Gerard Wilson for Defendants and Appellants. The Arkin Law Firm, Sharon J. Arkin; Barta Law and Theresa J. Barta for Plaintiffs and Respondents. Defendants Beaver Medical Group, P.C. (Beaver), Epic Management Services, LLC, Epiic Management, Inc., and John Goodman (collectively, BMG), appeal an order denying their motion to compel arbitration of claims asserted by plaintiff Donna Cody. BMG contends the trial court erred by

finding that BMG failed to establish a basis for enforcing an alleged arbitration agreement between Cody and her medical insurance carrier, Anthem Blue Cross (Anthem). Specifically, BMG argues Cody should be compelled to arbitrate her claims against BMG, even though it is not a party to any arbitration agreement with Cody, under equitable estoppel principles. We conclude that BMG has not met its burden of proving that the alleged arbitration agreement between Cody and Anthem complies with Health and Safety Code section 1363.1 (section 1363.1). Because non- compliance with section 1363.1, when applicable, makes an arbitration agreement invalid, we affirm the trial court’s denial of BMG’s motion to compel arbitration. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Cody was insured under an Anthem health plan when she began receiving treatment for an immune system condition. Anthem assigned Beaver to be Cody’s medical provider. Cody received Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy (IVIg) treatment for her condition from Dr. Mohsen Mabudian, a physician who worked for Beaver, until Beaver terminated Dr. Mabudian. According to Cody, BMG then denied her requests to authorize insurance coverage for continued IVIg treatment with Dr. Mabudian, forcing Cody to pay out of pocket for the treatment. After Cody appealed BMG’s denial of her requests, the California Department of Managed Health Care determined that Cody’s IVIg treatment was medically necessary, and BMG authorized her requested treatment. Cody sued BMG asserting several causes of action based on allegations that BMG wrongfully prevented her from obtaining coverage for her IVIg