Aaron Filler v. Blue Cross of California , 593 F. App'x 685 ( 2015 )

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION FEB 13 2015
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
AARON FILLER, MD, PHD, APC, No. 13-55268
Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 2:12-cv-08760-CAS-
JEM
And
NEUROGRAPHY INSTITUTE MEMORANDUM*
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES, APC, a
California corporation; IMAGE BASED
SURGICENTER, INC., a California
corporation,
Plaintiffs,
v.
BLUE CROSS OF CALIFORNIA, DBA
Anthem Blue Cross, erroneously sued
separately as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue
Cross of California; ANTHEM BLUE
CROSS LIFE AND HEALTH
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
Christina A. Snyder, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted February 11, 2015**
Pasadena, California
Before: SENTELLE,*** CHRISTEN, and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges.
Dr. Aaron Filler, the Image Based Surgicenter, Inc., and Neurography Institute
Medical Associates, APC (collectively, “Filler”) appeal the dismissal of their
complaint against Blue Cross of California, Anthem Blue Cross, and Anthem Blue
Cross Life and Health Insurance Company (collectively, “Blue Cross”). On appeal,
Filler challenges only the subject matter jurisdiction of the district court over this
removed action. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and affirm.
1. Section 502(a)(1)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974, Pub. L. No. 93-406, 88 Stat. 829, 891 (“ERISA”), provides that “[a] civil action
may be brought—(1) by a participant or beneficiary— . . . (B) to recover benefits due
to him under the terms of his plan, to enforce his rights under the terms of the plan,
or to clarify his rights to future benefits under the terms of the plan.” 29 U.S.C. §
1132(a)(1)(B). If a plaintiff asserting a state law cause of action “at some point in
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
***
The Honorable David Bryan Sentelle, Senior Circuit Judge for the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sitting by designation.
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time, could have brought his claim under ERISA § 502(a)(1)(B),” and “there is no
other independent legal duty that is implicated by a defendant’s actions,”
§ 502(a)(1)(B) completely preempts the state cause of action. Aetna Health Inc. v.
Davila, 542 U.S. 200, 210 (2004).
2. District court jurisdiction was not defeated by Filler’s alleged lack of federal
standing. As an assignee of his patients’ ERISA benefits, Filler had both Article III
standing and statutory standing to sue, notwithstanding the anti-assignment clauses
in the patients’ insurance contracts. See Spinedex Physical Therapy USA Inc. v.
United Healthcare of Ariz., Inc., 770 F.3d 1282, 1288-91, 1296-97 (9th Cir. 2014);
Davidowitz v. Delta Dental Plan of Cal., Inc., 946 F.2d 1476, 1477, 1481 (9th Cir.
1991); see also City of Hope Nat’l Med. Ctr. v. HealthPlus, Inc., 156 F.3d 223, 228
(1st Cir. 1998).
3. Filler’s state law claims for negligent entrustment, conversion, and
interference with contractual relations were completely preempted under
§ 502(a)(1)(B). The claims were premised on recovering money owed to Filler’s
patients under an ERISA benefits plan, and thus fell “within the scope of ERISA
§ 502(a).” See Fossen v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mont., Inc., 660 F.3d 1102,
1110 (9th Cir. 2011). The independent legal duties Filler alleged were merely
attempts to “‘obtain relief by dressing up an ERISA benefits claim in the garb of a
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state law tort.’” Id. at 1110-11 (quoting Cleghorn v. Blue Shield of Cal., 408 F.3d
1222, 1225 (9th Cir. 2005)). Thus, the district court had subject matter jurisdiction
under the general federal question statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
4. Because this appeal challenges only the district court’s subject matter
jurisdiction, we express no opinion on the merits of the dismissed or remanded claims.
AFFIRMED.
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