State tries to remove ‘veil of arbitration secrecy’ in memory care elder abuse case

State tries to remove ‘veil of arbitration secrecy’ in memory care elder abuse case
McKnights Senior Living, By Kimberly Bonvissuto, 12/19/23
In a bid to remove a “veil of arbitration secrecy,” one state attorney general filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit alleging elder abuse at a memory care facility. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a motion to intervene on Friday in an abuse and neglect lawsuit against Senita Ridge, the memory care community on the campus of Ridges at Peoria in Peoria, AZ. A judge’s Oct. 31 order moved the case to arbitration, but Mayes charged that the secrecy of arbitration removes transparency in an elder abuse case, which violates the state’s Adult Protective Services Act. The act requires notification to the state’s top attorney when a lawsuit alleging elder abuse or neglect is filed, allowing the state to track and potentially join the case.