In Rave v. SVA Healthcare Services (2019AP2236), the District I Court of Appeals upheld the circuit court’s decision to certify a class in a lawsuit involving fees for medical records.

Facts

After being injured in a car crash, Rave retained a personal injury law firm and authorized his attorneys to obtain his health care records. Rave’s attorneys requested certified copies of his medical billing records; SVA Healthcare Services fulfilled the request and invoiced the law firm for copies of the records. Later, Rave sued SVA on behalf of himself and a purported class of similarly situated individuals, alleging unjust enrichment and arguing that SVA was improperly charging “certification” and “retrieval” fees for medical records in a manner not authorized under Wis. Stat. § 146.83(3f)(b)4.-5. Rave sought statutory damages under Wis. Stat. § 146.84(1). The circuit court granted Rave’s motion to certify a class; SVA appealed.

Discussion

The appellate court referred to Wis. Stat. § 803.08, which provides a two-part test for determining whether a circuit court should certify a class. The appellate court concluded that “the circuit court applied the correct law to the facts of record and reached a reasonable decision when it certified the class in this matter.”

This opinion was not published.