Sumerlin et al. v. MultiCare Heath System et al.

The Court authorized a notice and this website to tell you about how the proposed settlement may affect you. The notice describes the lawsuit, the general terms of the proposed settlement, and what it may mean for you. The notice also explains how to participate in, or exclude yourself from, the settlement.

The Honorable Julie M. McKay of the Spokane County Superior Court is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is known as Sumerlin et al. v. MultiCare Health System et al., Case No. 23-2-01703-32 (“lawsuit”). The individuals who filed this lawsuit are called the “Plaintiffs” and/or “Class Representatives” and the defendants sued (which are MultiCare Health System, Inc.; MultiCare Deaconess Hospital; MultiCare Valley Hospital; MultiCare Rockwood Clinic; and MultiCare Rockwood Clinic Neurosurgery & Spine, as well as Dr. Jason A Dreyer DO and Laura Dreyer), are called the “Defendants.”

Beginning July 23, 2019 through March 10, 2021, Dr. Jason Dreyer was a neurosurgeon at MultiCare and conducted spine surgeries at MultiCare Deaconess Hospital and MultiCare Valley Hospital. Both hospitals are located in Spokane County. MultiCare paid Dr. Dreyer via an uncapped compensation program, which is alleged to have encouraged unnecessary or other improper spine surgeries.

Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit on behalf of themselves and similarly situated patients alleging that this compensation program, along with actions by Defendants, resulted in an alleged pattern of medically unnecessary or improper spine surgeries performed under general anesthesia by Dr. Dreyer at Deaconess and Valley hospitals and that allegedly resulted in damages. Plaintiffs asserted legal claims for medical negligence, corporate negligence, unlawful profiteering, consumer protection act violations, and associated common law legal claims.

Defendants deny these allegations and deny any liability. The Court has not determined that Defendants did anything wrong or that any law has been violated, and the Settlement is not an admission of liability by Defendants. Instead, the Plaintiffs and Defendants have agreed to a settlement to avoid the risk, cost, and time of continuing the lawsuit.

In a class action, one or more people called “class representatives” sue on behalf of themselves and other people with similar legal claims. All of these people together are the “class” or “class members.” One court resolves all legal claims for all class members, except for those class members who exclude themselves (opt-out) from the class by timely notifying the court that they do not wish to participate.

The Court has decided to allow this lawsuit to proceed as a class action for settlement purposes. The class includes all persons whose medical records confirm that one or more spine surgeries were performed upon them under general anesthesia by Dr. Jason Dreyer at MultiCare Deaconess Hospital or MultiCare Valley Hospital in Spokane County between July 23, 2019 through March 10, 2021.

Records show that there are approximately 475 patients who had such surgeries by Dr. Dreyer at those locations while under general anesthesia.

The Court has not decided in favor of Plaintiffs or Defendants. Instead, Plaintiffs and Defendants have agreed to a settlement to avoid the costs, risks and uncertainty of continued litigation.

You are a Class Member if you received a spine surgery / surgeries, performed by Dr. Jason Dreyer while under general anesthesia at either MultiCare Deaconess Hospital or MultiCare Valley Hospital between July 23, 2019 through March 10, 2021.

Spine Surgeries includes surgical procedures to treat conditions of the spinal column in an operating room and under general anesthesia.

Defendant MultiCare’s facilities include the MultiCare Deaconess and MultiCare Valley hospitals in Spokane County.

Yes. Excluded from the Class are: officers and directors of MultiCare; the presiding judge and any judicial staff involved in this lawsuit; and any class member who submits a timely request to opt out.

If you are still not sure whether you are a Class Member, you may email info@MultiCareSpineSettlement.com.

Defendants will pay $55,500,000 into a Settlement Fund. The Settlement Fund will be used to:

• Make payments to Class Members;
• Pay settlement administration expenses, including administering costs related to the designated panel of spine surgery experts;
• Pay Service Awards to the class representatives if, and as approved by the Court; and
• Pay attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses if and as approved by the Court.

If you are a Class Member, or if you are an authorized representative of an incapacitated Class Member or a deceased Class Member’s estate, you can submit a Claim Form for the following cash payments:

Tier 1: You may submit a Claim Form without supporting documentation submitted by you to receive a cash payment in the amount of $2,000 per Class Member.

Tier 2: If you contend your spine surgery was unnecessary or negligently performed, you can submit a Claim Form requesting review for Tier 2, without supporting documentation submitted by you, to be eligible to receive a pro rata (a legal term meaning equal share) cash payment.

Tier 2 is for patients who underwent a spine surgery conducted by Dr. Dreyer at MultiCare Deaconess or MultiCare Valley Hospitals in Spokane County under general anesthesia between July 23, 2019 through March 10, 2021, which surgery was allegedly unnecessary or otherwise performed below the standard of care.

Tier 2 Claims will require review of your MultiCare medical records and imaging by a member of the designated panel of neurosurgery spine experts, who will have access to your MultiCare records for the purpose of this review. The cost of review will be funded by your Tier 1 cash payment, meaning that you will give up your right to your $2,000 Tier 1 cash payment to pay for the review costs. If you file a Tier 2 Claim Form, you will automatically give up the Tier 1 cash payment to cover costs associated with your medical records being reviewed.

If your request for Tier 2 treatment is denied, you may appeal to the Settlement Administrator. Any denial of this appeal will be the final determination of your Tier 2 claim. A full description of the appeal process with the Settlement Administrator can be found at paragraph 8 of the Plan of Allocation (Exhibit F of the Settlement Agreement).

Tier 2 payments will be determined based upon the number of Class Members in the Tier. The amount of the Settlement Fund allocated for Tier 2 will be split equally among all Class Members who qualify for Tier 2 based upon review by the neurosurgery spine experts.

Tier 3: If you contend you suffered extreme and egregious harm directly resulting from the surgery(s) conducted by Dr. Dreyer, you may submit a Claim Form, with supporting documentation submitted by you, to receive a pro rata cash payment up to $750,000 per Class Member.

For purposes of Settlement, qualification for extreme and egregious circumstances requires qualifying for Tier 2 status and would include: multiple surgeries or surgeries to revise and correct a qualifying surgery performed by Dr. Dreyer; paralysis; permanent disability such as loss of limb function; severe and unmanageable chronic pain; clinically documented severe and permanent emotional trauma caused by the qualifying spine surgery.

Pre-existing conditions will be closely scrutinized in the review to decide whether the harm claimed was caused by the treatment at issue and not by a pre-existing or collateral medical concern.

Tier 3 payments will be determined based upon the number of Class Members who qualify for Tier 3 after review. The amount of the Settlement Fund allocated for Tier 3 will be split equally among all Class Members who qualify for Tier 3 with a maximum award not to exceed $750,000 per Class Member. This is in addition to the Tier 2 recovery.

You will be responsible for providing all supporting non-MultiCare medical records and imaging studies to support your Tier 3 Claim Form. You may also submit MultiCare medical records to support your Claim Form if you believe they are pertinent and you want to ensure their specific review. If you do not qualify under Tier 2 criteria, you will not be considered for Tier 3. The cost of review for Tier 3 is estimated to be between $5,000 and $10,000. By filing a Tier 3 Claim Form, and if a Tier 3 review occurs, you agree to have that expense paid from your Tier 2 cash payment in addition to losing your Tier 1 cash payment.

If your request for Tier 3 treatment is denied, you may appeal to the Settlement Administrator. Any denial of this appeal will be the final determination of your Tier 3 claim. A full description of the appeal process with the Settlement Administrator can be found at paragraph 8 of the Plan of Allocation (Exhibit F of the Settlement Agreement).

A deceased Class Member’s estate is eligible for Tier 1 or Tier 2 only.

Cash Payment for Valid Claims under Tier 2 and Tier 3 may be subject to a pro rata (a legal term meaning equal share) increase or decrease depending on the total value of all Valid Claims to be paid from the Settlement Fund.

Class Member Payments may be subject to liens, reimbursement claims, court ordered garnishments, judgments, or other legal obligations including claims by health care insurers for reimbursement of medical expenses paid by the insurer, including, but not limited to, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid or other government sponsored plans. Class Members are individually responsible for resolving any such financial obligations that may apply. Each Class Member has an independent legal obligation under federal law, including, but not limited to, 42 C.F.R. § 411.24, to satisfy any Medicare claim, lien or interest, against that class member individually, which is each Class Member’s sole and separate obligation. By not opting out of the Class, each individual Class Member acknowledges with regard to any lien or subrogation claims asserted against that individual class member’s award that the individual Class Member will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Defendants from and against all private causes of action or lien and subrogation claims, including all costs and attorney's fees incurred in the defense of such claims, up to that Class Member’s individual settlement recovery allocation minus subrogation amounts already paid. Cash payments on a claim will not be made by the Settlement Administrator until the lien or subrogation claim is resolved.

You must submit a timely and valid Claim Form to receive a cash payment as described above. Your Claim Form must be submitted online here by January 4, 2027.

The IRS requires the Settlement Administrator to collect your Social Security number before you can receive a cash payment. Defendants are prohibited by health privacy laws from sharing your Social Security number with the Settlement Administrator.

To receive your cash payment, you will need to provide your Social Security Number to the Settlement Administrator when filling out the Claim Form. Your Social Security number will be kept secure, will not be shared with anyone, and your data will be destroyed once the Settlement has been administered.

If you change your mailing address or email address after you submit a Claim Form, it is your responsibility to inform the Settlement Administrator of your updated information. You may notify the Settlement Administrator of any changes by writing to:

Sumerlin v. MultiCare Health System
Settlement Administrator
PO Box 2857
Portland, OR 97208-2857

If you file a timely and valid Claim Form, your cash payment will be provided after the Settlement is approved by the Court and becomes final and after tier determinations are finalized.

It may take time for the Settlement to be approved and become final. Please be patient and check this website for updates.

Yes. If you prefer, you can receive your payment electronically through Zelle, PayPal, ACH, or Venmo. To receive payment electronically, however, you must let the Settlement Administrator know that you want to be paid electronically, and you must give the Settlement Administrator the information it needs to know about your electronic payment account. For further information, you can go here and follow the instructions there.

If you are a Class Member but do not want to remain in the Class and want to keep any right you may have to sue or continue to sue the Released Parties on your own about the legal claims in this lawsuit or the Released Claims, then you may exclude yourself from the Class (also known as “opting out”). If you exclude yourself, you will lose any rights you have under the Settlement.

To opt out, you must mail a written request for exclusion which includes the following:

1. The case name of this lawsuit - Sumerlin et al. v. MultiCare Health System et al.;
2. Your name and current address;
3. Your personal signature or the signature of your authorized representative; and
4. A statement clearly indicating your intent to be excluded from Class, such as “I hereby request to be excluded from the Class in Sumerlin et al. v. MultiCare Health System et al.”

The exclusion request must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator at the following address, and be postmarked by January 4, 2027:

Sumerlin v. MultiCare Health System
Settlement Administrator
PO Box 2857
Portland, OR 97208-2857

You cannot opt-out (exclude yourself) by telephone or by email.

Please note per the United States Postal Service, mail may not be postmarked the day it is deposited in a mailbox or at a local post office. Postmarks occur when mail reaches a processing facility. To meet a postmark deadline, mail at least a week prior to a postmark deadline, get a manual postmark in-person at any post office, or send via Certified Mail.

“Mass” or “class” requests for exclusion filed by third parties on behalf of a “mass” or “class” of Class Members or multiple Class Members where the opt-out has not been signed by each and every individual Class Member will not be allowed.

No. If you opt out, you will not be able to receive a cash payment, and you will not be bound by the Settlement or any judgments in this lawsuit. You can only get a cash payment if you stay in the Settlement and submit a timely and valid Claim Form.

No. Unless you opt out, you give up any right to sue any of the Released Parties for the legal claims this Settlement resolves and Releases, and you will be bound by all the terms of the Settlement, proceedings, orders, and judgments in the lawsuit. You must opt-out of this lawsuit to start or continue your own lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against the Released Parties about the Released Claims in this Settlement. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately.

If you are a Class Member and do not opt out, you can tell the Court you do not agree with any aspect of the Settlement, including, without limitation: attorneys’ fees, costs, and Service Awards, or specific language in the settlement agreement.

To object, you must file your timely written objection with the Court as provided below by January 4, 2027, and send a copy of the written objection by U.S. mail to Class Counsel and to Defense Counsel for MultiCare, postmarked by January 4, 2027, stating you object to the Settlement in Sumerlin et al. v. MultiCare Health System, Inc. et al., No. 23-2-01703-32.

To file an objection, you cannot exclude yourself from the Class. Your objection must include all of the following information:

1. The case name and number of this lawsuit - Sumerlin et al. v. MultiCare Health System, Inc. et al., No. 23-2-01703-32;
2. Your full name, current mailing address, telephone number, and email address and, if represented by a lawyer, the name, address, telephone number, and email address of your lawyer;
3. A statement of whether the objection applies only to you as the objector, to a specific part of the Class, or to the Class as a whole;
4. The number of times in which you (and, where applicable, your lawyer) has objected to a class action settlement, along with the caption of each lawsuit in which you have made an objection;
5. A statement whether you have sold or otherwise transferred your right to recovery in this lawsuit to another person or entity, and, if so, the identity of that person or entity;
6. A statement of the specific grounds for the objection, including any legal and factual support and any evidence in support of the objection;
7. Provide any and all evidence and supporting papers to be considered by the Court;
8. A statement of whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, and if so, whether personally or through your lawyer; and
9. Your signature.

To object, you must file your timely written objection with the Court by January 4, 2027, and send it by U.S. mail to Class Counsel and to both Defense Counsel, for both MultiCare and the Dreyers, postmarked by January 4, 2027, at the following addresses:

Please note per the United States Postal Service, mail may not be postmarked the day it is deposited in a mailbox or at a local post office. Postmarks occur when mail reaches a processing facility. To meet a postmark deadline, mail at least a week prior to a postmark deadline, get a manual postmark in-person at any post office, or send via Certified Mail.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Class. Opting out is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Class. If you opt out, you cannot object because you are no longer part of the Settlement.

Unless you exclude yourself (opt out), you will remain a member in the Class. If the Settlement is approved and becomes final, all Court orders and any judgments will apply to you and legally bind you. You will not be able to sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Released Parties about the legal claims made in this lawsuit. The specific rights you are giving up are called “Released Claims.”

Paragraph 40 and 41 and Section IV of the Settlement Agreement describes the Releases, Released Claims, and Released Parties, in necessary legal terminology, so please read this section carefully. The Settlement Agreement is here. For questions regarding the Releases, Released Claims, or Released Parties and what the language in the Settlement Agreement means, you can also contact Class Counsel listed below for free, or you can talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

Yes. The Court appointed the following lawyers to represent you and other Class Members as “Class Counsel.”

You will not be charged by these lawyers for their work in the lawsuit, because any fees they receive must come from the settlement fund as approved by the Court. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to award attorneys’ fees of up to one-third (33%) of the settlement fund, plus reimbursement for expenses to be paid from the settlement fund. Any fees and expenses that Class Counsel receive must be approved by the Court. The Court may award less than this amount. You will not have to pay any portion of these fees and expenses yourself. Class Counsel’s motion for fees and expenses will be filed by December 14, 2026 and will be available to view on the settlement website here.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to award all class representatives Service Awards of $25,000 each for the time that they spent, and the risks that they undertook, in bringing this lawsuit on behalf of the Class. Any Service Awards that the class representatives receive must be approved by the Court. The Court may award less than this amount. Any amount approved by the Court will be paid from the settlement fund.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on February 2, 2027, at 8:30 a.m. before the Honorable Julie M. McKay at the Spokane County Superior Court 1116 West Broadway, Spokane, WA 99201. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and decide whether to approve the Settlement, Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees, costs, and Service Awards.

If there are objections that were filed by the deadline, the Court will consider them. If you file a timely objection, and you (or your lawyer) ask to speak at the hearing, the Court may hear objections at the hearing.

Note: The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing are subject to change without further notice to the Class. The Court may also decide to hold the hearing via video conference or by telephone. You should check here to confirm the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing have not changed.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. You are welcome, however, to attend at your own expense. If you file an objection, you do not have to attend the Final Approval Hearing to speak about it. As long as you file your written objection by the deadline, the Court will consider it.

If there are objections that were filed by the deadline, the Court will consider them. If you file a timely objection, and you (or your lawyer) ask to speak at the hearing, the Court may hear objections at the hearing.

The Notice summarizes the Settlement. Complete details about the Settlement are provided in the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement and other related documents are available here. You may get additional information by calling toll-free 1-877-313-8724, or by writing to:

Sumerlin v. MultiCare Health System
Settlement Administrator
PO Box 2857
Portland, OR 97208-2857

If you wish to communicate directly with Class Counsel, you may contact them. You may also seek advice and guidance from your own private lawyer at your own expense, if you wish to do so.

The notice is only a summary of the lawsuit and the settlement. Other related documents can be accessed through this settlement website. If you have questions about the proposed settlement, or wish to receive a copy of the settlement agreement but can’t download or access the copy online, you may contact the Settlement Administrator. The Court cannot respond to any questions regarding this notice, the lawsuit, or the proposed settlement.

Please do not contact the Court, its Clerks, MultiCare, or Defendants.