CHICAGO – U.S. Seventh Circuit appellate judges who favored a potential class action over unwelcome faxes five years ago shut it down on June 23.
They rejected an appeal that Belleville chiropractor Robert Meinders filed after former district judge David Herndon dismissed his suit against United Health Care.
They had reversed Herndon on a similar decision in 2015.
Their first decision took a year, and the second took four years.
United processed Meinders’s claims, paid him, and authorized procedures.
Attorney Phillip Bock of Chicago filed a complaint for him in St. Clair County circuit court in 2014, claiming United violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
He named United Health Care and United Health Care Illinois as defendants.
United removed the suit to district court and moved to dismiss it for improper venue, claiming Meinders signed an agreement requiring arbitration.
Bock responded that United couldn’t enforce the agreement because Meinders signed it with ACN Group Inc.
Herndon enforced it and dismissed the suit, identifying ACN as a subsidiary of United and finding United assumed its rights and obligations.
Meinders appealed, and Seventh Circuit judges William Bauer, Joel Flaum, and David Hamilton reversed Herndon in 2015.
They questioned the existence and the extent of an assumption, and remanded the suit to Herndon for development of a record.
Upon remand, Bock added seven United entities as defendants.
United moved to dismiss two entities for arbitration and stay proceedings against the rest, and Herndon granted the motion in 2016.
He found United carried out ACN’s obligations and Meinders was aware that it did. He also found Meinders assented to United’s performance by repeatedly submitting claims to it and accepting payments from it.
Meinders brought an appeal before the same Seventh Circuit judges, who dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction.
They relied on a ruling from their court earlier this year, finding a decision for arbitration coupled with a stay rather than dismissal is not appealable.
They found Herndon gave Meinders an opportunity to delineate the boundaries of the assumption theory and based his decision on a fully developed record.
Attorneys Christopher Tourek and James Smith of Bock’s firm represent Meinders.
Attorney Adam Levin and Kathryn Marshall of Washington, Jason Stiehl of Chicago, and Mitchell Zamoff of Minneapolis represent United.
After arbitration, District Judge Staci Yandle will preside.