A New York City civil lawsuit accusing dozens of clinics and doctors – including Emmanuel Hostin – is moving closer to a settlement.
via: Daily Mail
Dr. Emmanuel Hostin defiantly called himself the victim of a frivolous 'smear campaign' last month after he was accused of providing 'fraudulent medical services' in 'exchange for kickbacks', in a complaint filed by American Transit Insurance Company in December.
But the orthopedic surgeon now finds himself increasingly isolated after the vast majority of defendants have now offered to settle their cases, according to a new court filing obtained by DailyMail.com.
American Transit, which insures taxi company and Uber and Lyft drivers, announced last Monday that more than 141 of the 186 defendants named in the suit have agreed in principle to settle one of the largest RICO cases ever filed in New York.
The papers, filed by the law firm Manning Kass, did not specify which defendants offered to settle.
Dr. Hostin has until February 10 to respond to the legal complaint.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Hostin family lawyer Mark Geragos maintained that the surgeon had not been involved in any wrongdoing and demanded American Transit issue an apology to Dr. Hostin and his family.
'Dr. Emmanuel Hostin should not have been named as a defendant in this lawsuit and American Transit must dismiss him from the lawsuit with prejudice,' said Geragos.
'American Transit must offer a full and unequivocal apology to Dr. Hostin and his wife, Sunny Hostin and their two children for this unfortunate mistake.
'American Transit must also pay Dr. Hostin what he is owed for his medical services to the insureds and substantial damages must be paid to Dr. Hostin and his family for reputational damage and emotional distress caused before they will consider any settlement.'
DailyMail.com broke the news last month that Hostin and his medical practice had been named in the lawsuit and accused of getting kickbacks for performing surgeries and submitting fraudulent bills.
'Hostin knowingly provided fraudulent medical and other healthcare services including arthroscopic surgeries,' the lawsuit, filed on December 17, claims.
American Transit was then billed 'in exchange for kickbacks and/or other compensation which were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions'.
Commenting on the lawsuit, the Hostins initially went on the offense.
Another Hostin attorney, Daniel Thwaites, told DailyMail.com in early January that his client 'denies each and every allegation' and called the lawsuit a 'blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit by a near-bankrupt insurance carrier'.
'It is meant to intimidate and harass doctors from collecting for care given to American Transit insureds and their passengers,' Thwaites said.
He said Hostin has an 'impeccable' record, adding: 'American Transit has rushed into the lawsuit without ever conducting an examination of Dr. Hostin or expressing any concerns to his lawyers.
'The real story here is about an insurance carrier abusing the legal system to limit and restrict health care benefits to its insureds and their passengers, and write off its proper obligations,' Thwaites said.
Sonny Hostin, co-host of The View with a background in law, later issued a statement to Page Six claiming American Transit 'used my celebrity status to start a disgusting media smear campaign against my husband,' and 'is harassing me and my family in a frantic attempt to not pay its bills'.
While the power couple has vowed to fight, the lawsuit has apparently caused many of the defendants to buckle.
In addition to announcing they've 'reached pre-service settlement agreements in principle' with more than three-quarters of the defendants, American Transit declared 'it will soon be advising the court of agreements in principle with several other defendants. Upon completion of the settlements, plaintiff will promptly file notices of voluntary dismissal as to the settling defendants.'
Sunny Hostin, 56, has been married to the doctor for nearly quarter of a century. They tied the knot in 1998 and have two children and live in a palatial 10-bed, 10-bath estate in Purchase, New York.
They met at a church in Maryland, where he graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1996.
Sunny, a lawyer and former prosecutor, is senior legal correspondent and analyst for ABC News as well as co-host of The View.
She is no stranger to talking about her marriage on The View. Back in February, co-host Whoopi branded her a 'b****' when Hostin openly slammed her husband's cooking live on air.
She has also shared painful experiences including about her struggles with infertility, before she and her husband welcomed their children, a 22-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter.
In January 2021, she revealed the tragic news that her husband's parents, both physicians, had died of COVID over the holiday break.
In the suit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, Dr. Hostin, 54, is named as the owner of Hostin Orthopaedics, working out of an eighth-floor office on Lexington Avenue close to Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal.
American Transit claims 'rampant' insurance fraud is endemic in New York State thanks to its 'No-Fault Law' under which insurers must pay up to $50,000 for medical expense for people injured in road accidents.
'These substantial possible no-fault recoveries can incentivize providers with ill intent to over-diagnose, over-treat, and over-bill to recover the most money for themselves,' American Transit said in a statement.
The law was introduced in 1974 'in the wake of rapidly rising automobile insurance costs and when accident victims were experiencing long delays in compensation,' American Transit says in the suit.
But taxis and ride-share vehicles are now required to pay up to $200,000 – four times the coverage for private drivers.
'This has put a target on the backs of livery vehicles, and the insurance companies which insure them, for unsavory person seeking to capitalize on payouts following injuries.'
'In the aggregate, those abusing the No-Fault Law have racked up hundreds of millions in fraudulent payments, destabilized the livery insurance market in New York City, increased premiums for hard working taxi-can and livery drivers, and harmed the public.'
American Transit is seeking more than $450million in damages in the case.
The insurance company claims Hostin was given an 'investment' interest in Empire State Ambulatory Surgery Center in exchange for referring a 'steady stream' of patients.
'Empire State ASC issued regular payments to or for the benefit of Hostin, which, in fact, were illegal kickbacks for referrals,' the court papers claim.
As examples the insurance company claims Hostin – who is affiliated with several top New York hospitals including Mount Sinai and Lenox Hill – saw two patients in January 2023 who were involved in 'low-impact' collisions that should have caused 'no more than soft-tissue injuries'.
But in both cases Hostin is said to have performed arthroscopic surgery within two months without seeing if the patients would have recovered through more conservative care.
William Natbony, an attorney for American Transit told DailyMail.com: 'No fault fraud is a huge problem in New York.
'American Transit filed a lawsuit as part of its statutory responsibility to fight such fraud.'
But Steven Harfenist, a lawyer who has represented defendants in similar cases, told Law.com that the lawsuit 'looks like a hail Mary' by American Transit.
He called it a desperate attempt at 'wiping out large swaths of receivables' by targeting smaller practices that might settle because they can't afford litigation.
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