{"id":308,"date":"2026-01-02T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california.shuster.info\/?p=308"},"modified":"2026-01-02T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T12:00:00","slug":"poole-healthright-360-survivor-claim-sober-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california.shuster.info\/?p=308","title":{"rendered":"Poole v. HealthRIGHT 360 \u2014 N.D. Cal. tosses survivor claim in sober-living overdose suit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Case<\/dt>\n
Dawn Poole, et al. v. HealthRIGHT 360, et al.<\/dd>\n
Court<\/dt>\n
U.S. District Court \u2014 Northern District of California<\/dd>\n
Date Decided<\/dt>\n
2026-01-02<\/dd>\n
Docket No.<\/dt>\n
3:25-cv-03173<\/dd>\n
Status<\/dt>\n
Unreported \/ Non-Citable<\/dd>\n
Topics<\/dt>\n
Survivor cause of action; wrongful death; Rule 12(c) judgment on the pleadings; sober-living facility; California Code of Civil Procedure \u00a7 377.30<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Background<\/h2>\n

Justin Cartright died of a suspected drug overdose on January 14, 2024, while a resident at HealthRIGHT 360, a large San Francisco-based residential substance-use treatment provider that operates Walden House. He had entered the program less than three weeks earlier, on December 28, 2023, after being released from the Madera County Jail. His mother had agreed to help him relocate to Ireland on the condition that he first complete residential drug treatment.<\/p>\n

His parents originally sued HealthRIGHT 360 and its CEO, Vitka Eisen, in this Northern District of California action, asserting four California claims: wrongful death, neglect of a dependent adult under the Elder Abuse Act, negligent training and supervision, and a survivor cause of action under California Code of Civil Procedure \u00a7 377.30 et seq.<\/p>\n

In a July 2025 order, Judge Joseph Spero dismissed the parents\u2019 wrongful-death claim for lack of standing and dismissed the survivor claim because, as pleaded, it was simply a negligence claim premised on the decedent\u2019s own death. Both dismissals were with leave to amend. The decedent\u2019s daughter, G.P., then intervened as the proper plaintiff and filed a First Amended Complaint. HealthRIGHT 360 answered and immediately moved for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c) on the renewed survivor claim, pointing out that the new pleading repeated the same allegations the court had already found insufficient.<\/p>\n

The Court’s Holding<\/h2>\n

Judge Spero granted the motion and dismissed the survivor claim without leave to amend. Reviewing the renewed allegations under the same standard as a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court found that paragraphs 72\u201376 of the First Amended Complaint were word-for-word identical to paragraphs 76\u201380 of the original complaint. Plaintiff had used her amendment opportunity but had not added anything that would cure the defect the court previously identified.<\/p>\n

Under California law, a wrongful-death claim is a statutory cause of action that arises at the moment of death and belongs to the decedent\u2019s heirs. A survivor cause of action, by contrast, is a separate claim that belonged to the decedent in life and that, by statute, survives death. Following Estate of Serna<\/em> and the line of cases it represents, a survivor claim cannot be premised on the decedent\u2019s own death \u2014 to allow that would let plaintiffs collect under both theories for the same injury and would conflict with the rule that wrongful-death damages vest in the heirs.<\/p>\n

Because the allegations supporting the renewed survivor claim still described nothing more than negligence that resulted in the overdose death itself, the claim failed as a matter of law. The Elder Abuse Act exception that opens the door to predeath pain-and-suffering damages was not implicated by the survivor claim as pleaded. The remaining wrongful-death, Elder Abuse, and negligent supervision claims continue.<\/p>\n

Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n