DOWNEY - A class action lawsuit is alleging that a Downey nursing facility violated patient rights and recruited potential residents despite being understaffed.

The lawsuit, filed by the law firm Garcia, Artigliere and Medby, claims that Downey Community Health Center and Morris Weiss and Stanley Diller Partnership – a skilled nursing management company – "actively and intentionally" concealed the fact that they did not devote sufficient financial resources to the proper operation of the facilities.

Instead, the suit alleges that money was diverted from the care of the residents to create profits for the defendants.

The suit also alleges that the facility concealed that it was understaffed from new and prospective residents.

The understaffing and underfunding resulted in substandard care to their residents, evidenced by 63 citations that the facility has received from the Department of Public Health within the last three years, the suit says.


The suit finishes by saying that the representations made by Morris Weiss and Stanley Diller Partnership and the Downey Community Health Center were made to lure elderly residents into agreeing to be admitted to the facilities despite knowledge that the facilities could not provide the level and quality and care that was promised.

The lawsuit is asking for several remedies, including that the facilities retroactively report any unreported incidents of actual or suspected abuse or neglect from the last three years and that they provide proof to the court of their increased compliance efforts.

When reached for comment, Downey Community Health Center said they were unaware of the lawsuit.