Elder Abuse

Overview

CPM is one of the foremost law firms in the nation in representing senior citizens victimized by physical or financial abuse. Elder abuse is a serious and growing problem, especially with the baby boom generation entering retirement. In recognition of this problem, California has a unique law providing enhanced protections against elder abuse. CPM has successfully brought dozens of lawsuits under the statute. The firm has been highly successful in actions on behalf of seniors who have been seriously injured in nursing homes, and seniors who have been defrauded into purchasing unsuitable financial products.

CPM receives inquiries each week from family members concerned with the devastating problem of elder abuse. CPM has ongoing cases and investigations into the physical and financial abuse of senior citizens. The firm has handled many different types of elder abuse cases, such as actions arising out of deaths of three elderly people who went without care when temperatures reached 100-plus degrees in their nursing home.

If you would like to discuss your potential or pending elder abuse case, please follow up with Niall McCarthy or Anne Marie Murphy.

Noteworthy Cases

San Mateo Superior Court

On February 14, 2017, CPM obtained a $1,295,579 dollar judgment on behalf of an elderly Bay Area resident who was the victim of financial elder abuse. As detailed in the Complaint, Mr. Kofman lost every penny of his carefully saved retirement funds—in total over $1 million—in a merciless scam. Over the past fifteen years, Defendant Alexy Pitt has left in his wake a series of failed business ventures which have harmed employees and investors alike. As alleged in the complaint, while running an MLM – pyramid scheme scam Pitt and Lucrazon used Mr. Kofman as a personal piggy bank going so far as to fly the elderly Kofman down to Irvine when they needed more money. In response to Mr. Kofman’s pleas for repayment Mr. Pitt told Mr. Kofman "Donald Trump says you need to withstand pressure to be successful in business." Mr. Kofman pursued the case not just in the hopes of recovering some portion of his retirement funds but also with the hope of protecting others who could fall prey to Mr. Pitt.

USDC, Northern District of California

CPM is pursuing a class action complaint on behalf of the 500 residents of the Vi-Palo Alto, a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). Among CPM’s clients (the proposed class representatives) are a retired Nobel Prize winner, a doctor, a World War II journalist, and a unique collection of accomplished South Bay senior citizens. The facility is located on Stanford land. The lawsuit is believed to the first of its kind in the Bay Area challenging a CCRC’s financial practices. The complaint alleges that $190 million dollars was “up-streamed” from the Palo Alto facility to its corporate parent in Chicago, thus leaving the senior citizen residents financially vulnerable. Those funds were to be returned to the senior citizens when they moved out, or returned to their families when they passed away. The complaint alleges that the Chicago company has refused to return the money to Palo Alto.