WELLPATH HOLDINGS, INC., et al., Debtors.
Wellpath is one of the largest providers of correctional health care services in the United States. On any given day, Wellpath is responsible for providing care to more than 220,000 people at over 400 carceral facilities, including prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers. Since its creation in 2018, Wellpath has been named in hundreds of lawsuits relating to the quality of their health services, as well as the target of multiple federal investigations.
Despite the unconscionable amount of suffering it has inflicted and its attendant financial liability, Wellpath is reported to have generated approximately $2.4 billion in revenue last year. It now seeks to use of the bankruptcy system in part to discharge its mounting tort liability. The rights of hundreds of currently and formerly incarcerated people who were harmed by Wellpath are at risk. Together with leading civil rights organizations, we are fighting to protect their due process rights.
Both the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the U.S. Constitution require that Wellpath provide people with claims against Wellpath with reasonable notice of the bankruptcy and the deadline (the “bar date”) by which someone with a claim must submit a standardized form giving basic details about their claim (a “proof of claim”). Wellpath has proposed a plan for giving notice of the bar date that has significant shortcomings in light of the barriers that incarcerated people face in accessing legal proceedings.
We joined this case to make sure the bankruptcy court understands these obstacles. We authored an amicus (“friend of the court”) brief to explain how the bankruptcy proceeding might impact incarcerated creditors’ due process rights, and how the court can preserve those rights. For example, we suggested that the Court order Wellpath to create a summary flyer that uses plain language to explain what a proof of claim is and what the consequences are if a claimant misses the deadline. We also asked for the Court to extend the bar date to at least 120 days to ensure that people have sufficient time to receive notice, fill out the proof of claim, and submit it.
