Federal judge blasts Putnam treatment facility

By Terence Corcoran
The Journal News • July 9, 2008

A federal judge yesterday blasted representatives of a for-profit mental-health company that treats young adults with psychiatric problems at two Putnam County facilities for lobbying former patients to opt out of a multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit brought against the company.

U.S. District Judge Stephen C. Robinson in White Plains said the actions by representatives of SLS, which runs two residential treatment centers in Southeast, might be the “most outrageous conduct” he’s ever witnessed as a judge.

Therapists from SLS contacted former patients who qualify for the class action and told them that if they didn’t opt out, their medical records could be made public and discussed in open court. The patients had been sent a letter by the court, advising them that they needed to respond by next Monday to opt out.

Robinson said there was nothing to indicate that medical records would be revealed or individuals identified during a trial.

Family members of the patients were also called, and, in one case, an SLS representative contacted an attorney with Connecticut Legal Services to urge that clients who were treated at SLS opt out of the action.

“I have no doubt that inappropriate action took place here,” Robinson said. “There’s no question.”

SLS began making the calls after the court sent the letters.

Goshen, N.Y., attorney Michael Sussman filed the class-action lawsuit last year against several companies affiliated with SLS, the principals of those companies and several employees. The defendants include SLS Residential Inc., SLS Health, SLS Wellness, Supervised Lifestyles Inc., Chairmen Alfred Bergman and Joseph Santoro, a psychologist and several SLS employees. The company has its headquarters on Route 6 in Southeast.

Sussman filed the lawsuit on behalf of former SLS patients Nicholas J. Romano and Deborah A. Morgan, both of New Jersey, and many unnamed patients. Romano and Morgan, in their mid-20s, allege that SLS violated their rights and others’ rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act. The lawsuit seeks $75 million in compensatory damages, $150 million in punitive damages and an injunction to bar SLS from further violating patients’ rights.

Sussman said he had heard from at least five potential plaintiffs who received calls from SLS.

Mark Lombardo, a psychologist at SLS, which runs residential treatment centers on North Brewster Road and off Putnam Avenue in Southeast, told Robinson that he and other therapists were given a list by a supervisor of patients to call who qualified for the class-action suit and their families.

Lombardo said that none of the therapists had legal training and that no lawyers were present when the supervisor ordered them to make the calls. He said that patients and family members were not told they could possibly benefit from joining the lawsuit. He said people who had problems with SLS were not called.

Robinson ordered SLS attorney Paul Callan of Manhattan to bring a list of every patient and family member SLS contacted, the time of the call, the person who called, and the person who gave the instructions to call. Robinson ordered that all who made the calls appear in court.

He noted that several former patients who had contacted Sussman to complain about the calls were not on the list provided by Callan. He called Callan’s responses to his questions “misleading, deceptive and troubling to this court.”

Callan took umbrage, saying that no one had questioned his ethics in his 35-year law career.

“Mark the date on your calendar,” Robinson responded. “July 8, 2008. Mark it.”

Robinson later ordered that new letters be sent to those who opted out, and those who didn’t, after Monday’s deadline. Those who opted out will also get a letter from SLS in which the company will explain the misinformation it gave patients and families in the phone calls.

In addition, Robinson said he would order SLS to pay any legal fees Sussman incurred in bringing the calls to the court’s attention and would consider a financial sanction against SLS and, possibly, Callan’s firm, Callan, Koster, Brady & Brennan.

Robinson also issued an order barring SLS from discussing the lawsuit with any current or former patients. The parties will return to court July 17.

Allegations in the lawsuit are similar to several violations for which the state Office of Mental Health fined SLS in 2006 after visiting its treatment centers. The state fined SLS $110,000 for eight violations that inspectors found during a visit on Nov. 17, 2006, and for three more violations found during a follow-up visit Nov. 28, 2006. Among the violations were that SLS used illegal restraints on patients and failed to conduct criminal background checks on new employees.

SLS fought the allegations in a hearing in the summer of 2007 before the state Office of Mental Health. A hearing officer found that SLS violated patients’ rights on several occasions and broke the law. Then, last month, OMH Commissioner Michael F. Hogan upheld the state hearing officer’s findings. However, SLS has yet to pay the fine and can still appeal in court.

Reach Terence Corcoran at tcorcora@lohud.com or 845-228-2275.