Professional Experience

Mr. Struve’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and unfair competition actions, with a particular expertise in healthcare, insurance and the defense of consumer suits. In the healthcare field, Mr. Struve has litigated class and other representative actions, federal and state qui tam litigation, antitrust suits, RICO actions, managed care contracting suits, partnership actions, bad faith claims and payment disputes, as well as conducted internal investigations and compliance audits. In the insurance field, Mr. Struve has litigated numerous class actions and individual unfair business practices suits, bad faith actions, and rescission litigations.  Mr. Struve also has represented clients in trials and other litigation of significant matters involving real estate, title insurance, intellectual property, false advertising, employment, misappropriation of trade secrets, product liability, professional liability, partnerships, indemnity, contribution, subrogation, and other areas of the law.

Mr. Struve has performed these services for Catholic Healthcare West, Kindred Healthcare, Sun Healthcare Group, Inc., HealthSouth, Blue Shield of California, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, Assurant Health, The Boeing Company, and others.

Education

Western State University College of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 1998.
Valedictorian, Western State University College of Law, 1998.

Representative Matters

• Alvarado v. Sun Healthcare et al, 153 Cal. App. 4th 1292 (2007) (First-impression decision affirming dismissal, on demurrer, of Unfair Competition Law action against client nursing homes for alleged violations of statutory nurse hours staffing requirements. The court held that the equitable abstention doctrine foreclosed the plaintiff's attempt to usurp the assigned state agency's regulatory authority over nurse staffing).
• Pitluck v. Beverly Enterprises et al., No. B179680 2d Dist. Nov. 10, 2005) (affirming dismissal of Unfair Competition Law action against client nursing home providers, alleging unlawful and unfair practices relating to the purchase of indemnity insurance for claims made under California's Elder Abuse Act).
• Grauberger v. Saint Francis Hospital et al., 169 F. Supp. 2d 1172 (N.D. Cal. 2002) (obtained dismissal of RICO claims against hospital system for alleged improper lien and pricing practices).

Memberships & Activities

Member, American Law Institute, American Health Lawyers Association, California Society for Healthcare Attorneys, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Orange County Bar Association, and American Bar Association.

Secretary and Treasurer, Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library.

Domestic Violence Counselor, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

Admitted to practice, State Bar of California, 1999; United States District Court for the Central District of California, 1999; United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 2000.

Research Assistant to the Hon. Edward J. Wallin (Ret.), 1997.

Honors & Awards

Voted a Southern California "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine in 2007.

Speaking Engagements

With Robert Fabrikant, Presentation on “Health Care Law and Ethics Spotlight: Current Legal Ethics Issues for In-House Attorneys,” Live Webcast presented by New Media Legal Publishing and West LegalEdCenter, December 9, 2009.

With Professor Catherine T. Struve of The University of Pennsylvania, Presentation on “The American Law Institute, An Insider’s Perspective,” September 2007.

With Barry Landsberg, Presentation on “Hospital Liens: Current Legal Challenges,” to the VHA, a 2200-member nationwide network of community-owned health care systems and their physicians, July 2002 and April 2003.