Saks v. International Longshore & Warehouse Union-Pacific Maritime Ass'n Benefit Plans

MEMORANDUM

Lawrence Saks, a former plastic surgeon, appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of International Longshore & Warehouse Union-Pacific Maritime Association Benefit Plans (ILWU-PMA) on Saks’s quantum meruit claims for over $5 million in unpaid medical treatments. Saks’s former business, Madison Park Surgery and Laser Center (Madison Park) is also named as a plaintiff in this action, and appeals the district court’s denial of its motion to set aside default. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

The district court’s grant of summary judgment is reviewed de novo. See, e.g., Szajer v. City of Los Angeles, 632 F.3d 607, 610 (9th Cir.2011) (citation omitted). Saks challenges the district court’s finding that his claims are barred by the unclean hands doctrine, and raises three distinct arguments for the first time on appeal: (1) that his failure to comply with the notice requirements of a Preferred Provider Agreement (PPA) was not willful; (2) that this failure was unrelated to his quantum meruit claim as required by California’s unclean hands doctrine; and (3) that ILWU-PMA was not prejudiced by the failure. We generally “[do]…