Frequently Asked Questions

Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn’s records show that you were previously a resident of either the Independent Living or the Assisted Living unit of that facility. This website explains that the Court has allowed, or “certified”, a class action lawsuit that may affect you. You have legal rights and options that you may exercise before the Court holds a trial. The trial is to decide whether the claims being made against Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the Co-Defendants, on your behalf, are correct. The Hon. J. Mark Hayes II, of the Spartanburg Court of Common Pleas, Seventh Judicial Circuit, for the State of South Carolina, is overseeing this action. The lawsuit is known as Ed Medford and Karen Ward, as Personal Representative, v. Deepak Israni, et al., C.A. No. 2022-CP-42-00454.

This lawsuit is about whether Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn violated its agreement with residents of the Independent Living and the Assisted Living units by allowing the facility to be subject to chronic rodent infestations, chronic bed bug infestations, ongoing maintenance deficiencies such as elevators malfunctioning, air conditioning failures in the summer, and heating failures in the winter.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called “Class Representatives” (in this case Ed Medford and Karen Ward) sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. The people together are a “Class” or “Class Members”. The Class Representatives and Class Members are called the Plaintiffs. The company they sued (in this case Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and its Co-Defendants) are called the Defendants. One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class — except for those individuals who choose to exclude themselves from the Class.

The Court decided that this lawsuit can be a class action and move towards a trial because it meets the requirements of South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure 23, which governs class actions in South Carolina state courts. Specifically, the Court found that:

 • The Class exceeds 100 members;

 • There are legal questions and facts that are common to each of them;

 • Ed Medford’s and Karen Ward’s claims are typical of the claims of the rest of the Class;

 • Ed Medford and Karen Ward and the lawyers representing the Class can fairly and adequately represent the Class’s interests;

 • The common legal questions and facts are more important than questions that affect only individuals; 

 • The class action will be more efficient than having many individual lawsuits; and

 • Mr. Medford and Ms. Ward have standing to be appointed as Class Representatives.

More information about why the Court is allowing this lawsuit to be a Class Action is in the Court’s Order certifying the Class which is available on this website, Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification.

In the lawsuit, the Plaintiffs say that Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn violated its agreement with the residents of the Independent Living and Assisted Living units by allowing the facility to be subject to chronic rodent infestations, chronic bed bug infestations, ongoing maintenance deficiencies such as elevators malfunctioning, air conditioning failures in the summer, and heating failures in the winter. You can read about the Plaintiffs’ claims on this website here: Class Action Complaint.

Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the other Defendants deny they did anything wrong. Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the other Defendants say that while there may have been isolated issues relating to the allegations, they worked reasonably and diligently to correct any problems. The Defendants’ denial of any wrongdoing is available here: Answer and Amended Answer by Deepak Israni.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiffs or Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the other Defendants are correct. By establishing the Class and issuing this Notice, the Court is not suggesting that the Plaintiffs will win or lose this case. The Plaintiffs must prove their claims at a trial to be set in the future.

The Plaintiffs are asking for the refund of all money paid to Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn on behalf of residents of the Independent Living and Assisted Living units at any time between December 2019 and May 2024.

No money is available now because the Court has not decided whether Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the other Defendants did anything wrong, and the two sides have not settled the case. There is no guarantee that money will ever be obtained. If money is obtained, you will be notified about how to ask for a share.

Judge Hayes has decided that all residents who lived in the Independent Living unit or Assisted Living unit at Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn at any time from December 1, 2019, until May 31, 2024, are members of the Class. 

The Class includes the heirs and estates of any Class member who has passed away. This Class does not include any resident who lived in the Skilled Nursing unit or the Memory Care unit. However, if any resident lived in the Independent Living unit or the Assisted Living unit, and then transferred to the Skilled Nursing or Memory Care units, that resident is a member of the Class for the period of time she or he lived in the Independent Living unit or the Assisted Living unit.

If you are still not sure whether you are included, you can get help from this website by selecting "Contact Us" or from the lawyers in this case by calling 1 (833) 447-7904 or by writing to: Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn Class Action, P.O. Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391.

You don’t have to do anything now if you want to keep the possibility of getting money from this lawsuit. By doing nothing you are staying in the Class. If you stay in the Class and the Plaintiffs obtain money, either as a result of the trial or a settlement, this website will publish a notice about how to apply for a share. Keep in mind that if you do nothing now, regardless of whether the Plaintiffs win or lose the trial, you will not be able to sue, or continue to sue, Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn or the other Defendants, as part of any other lawsuit about the same legal claims that are the subject of this lawsuit. You will also be legally bound by all of the Orders the Court issues and judgments the Court makes in this class action.

If you already have your own lawsuit against Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn or any of the other Defendants claiming Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the other Defendants violated their agreement with the residents of the Independent Living and the Assisted Living units by  allowing the facility to be subject to chronic rodent infestations, bed bug infestations, ongoing maintenance deficiencies such as elevators malfunctioning, air conditioning failures in the summer, and heating failures in the winter, you need to ask to be excluded. If you believe that you are a Class member, or may be a Class member, but you do not wish to participate in this case for any reason, you may exclude yourself by following the steps set out in the next Section of this website which is labelled “How do I ask the Court to exclude me from the Class? If you exclude yourself from the Class — which also means to remove yourself from the Class, and is sometimes called “opting out” of the Class — you won’t get any money from the lawsuit even if the Plaintiffs obtain them as a result of the trial or from any settlement (that may or may not be reached) between the Plaintiffs and Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the other Defendants. However, you may then be able to sue or continue to sue Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the other Defendants for claims that occurred between December 1, 2019, and May 31, 2024. If you exclude yourself, you will not be legally bound by the Court’s judgments in this class action.  

If you start your own lawsuit against Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the other Defendants after you exclude yourself, you’ll have to hire and pay your own lawyer for that lawsuit, and you’ll have to prove your claims. If you do exclude yourself so you can start or continue your own lawsuit against Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and/or other Defendants, you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because your claims may be subject to the statute of limitations. 

To ask to be excluded from the Class, you must send an Exclusion Request to the Notice Administrator. You may exclude yourself by either mailing a letter to the Notice Administrator or by submitting your Exclusion Request through this website.
 

Mailing Your Exclusion Request: You must send a letter stating you want to be excluded from Ed Medford and Karen Ward, as Personal Representative v. Deepak Israni, et al., C.A. No. 2022-CP-42-00454. Be sure to include your name and address and sign the letter. You must mail your Exclusion Request postmarked by December 15, 2026, to: Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn Class Action, P.O. Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391.

Submitting Your Exclusion Request Through This Website: Please fill out the Exclusion Request Form at this link: Exclusion Request Form. It must be submitted by 11:59 P.M. December 15, 2026.
 

The Court has decided that the law firm of Knie Beatty & Holloway, LLC, and the law firm Mitch Slade Law Office, P.A., Spartanburg, South Carolina, are qualified to represent you and all Class Members. Together the law firms are called “Class Counsel”. Together, they are experienced in handling similar cases. More information about Patrick E. Knie is available at www.kniebeatty.com.

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. But, if you want your own lawyer, you will have to pay that lawyer. For example, you can ask him or her to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you.

If Class Counsel gets money for the Class, they will ask the Court for fees and expenses. You won’t have to pay these fees and expenses. If the Court grants Class Counsels’ request, the fees and expenses would be either deducted from any money obtained for the Class or paid separately by Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn or the other Defendants.

As long as the case isn’t resolved by a settlement or otherwise, Class Counsel will have to prove the Plaintiffs’ claims at a trial. The trial has not yet been set but will be heard at the Spartanburg Court Courthouse, 180 Magnolia Street, Spartanburg, S.C. 29306, before the Hon. J. Mark Hayes II, at a date and time to be set in the future. During the trial, a Jury or the Judge will hear all of the evidence to help them reach a decision about whether the Plaintiffs or Defendants are right about the claims in the lawsuit. There is no guarantee that the Plaintiffs will win, or that they will get any money for the Class.

You do not need to attend trial. Class Counsel will present the case for the Plaintiffs and Pacifica Senior Living Skylyn and the other Defendants will present the defenses. You, or your own lawyer, are welcome to come at your own expense.

If the Plaintiffs obtain money as a result of the trial or a settlement, you will be notified about how to participate. We do not know how long this will take.

For more information about this case, please visit the Document page which provides the Order Granting plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification, the Plaintiffs' Class Action Complaint, the Plaintiff's Amended Class Action Complaint, Defendants' Answer, and the Exclusion Request Form. You may also get more information by selecting "Contact Us".