CHARLESTON – The insurers of a surgery center in West Virginia are seeking a judgment regarding their duties to provide coverage for sexual misconduct claims.
Allied World Surplus Lines Insurance Co. and Allied World Assurance Co. filed a complaint Nov. 7 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Charleston Division against Day Surgery Limited Liability Co., doing business as Day Surgery Center LLC, and four individuals seeking declaratory judgment.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs are seeking declaratory judgment regarding their rights and obligations regarding insurance coverage to Day Surgery Center. The suit states Day Surgery Center is subject to suits regarding alleged sexual misconduct by a doctor employed by it that were filed by the individual defendants.
Dr. Steven Matulis worked at Day Surgery Center, and there have been nearly a dozen lawsuits filed against him for alleged sexual assault on patients while they were under anesthesia getting colonoscopies and other procedures done.
Charleston Area Medical Center revoked Matulis’ privileges at the hospital in 2016. In May, Matulis stopped his medical practice and voluntarily switched in license to practice to inactive.
The plaintiffs seek an order declaring the individual defendants' claims are deemed a single claim, subject to a single, $1 million limit of liability and a single $25,000 deductible; and that the individuals' claims are excluded under the umbrella policy claim; attorneys' fees; costs and all further relief that is just and proper. They are represented by Charles Jones and Richard Ambrow of Trautman Sanders LLP in Washington, D.C. and Charles R. Bailey and Josef A. Horter of Bailey & Wyant PLLC in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Charleston Division case number 2:17-cv-04286