VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE CITY OF ROANOKE 4701 Cox Road Suite 285 Glen Allen, VA 23060-6802 09 2 Beputy CITY OF ROAN Defendant. JOKE: MLHL, a minor, by and through ) her Mother and Next Friend, B.R., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) Case No. Cc c/ 9 05] ve ) ) SURY TRIAL DEMANDED ‘TREMONT ROAD DENTAL ) SUPER, PC d/b/a Spencer ) Dental and Braces a/k/a Kool Smiles, CIR Serve: CT Corporation } receipe ) ) ) ) d COMES NOW the Plaintiff, M.H., a minor, by and through her Parent and Next Friend, B.R.,! through counsel, and brings this action pursuant to state law, seeking redress for medical malpractice. Plaintiff seeks compensatory damages as well as attomey’s fees and costs. In support of this claim, Plaintiff states as follows: PARTIES AND VENUE 1. Plaintiff M.H. is a minor and resident of Salem, Virginia. As a minor, M.H. is suing through her Parent and Next Friend, B.R., pursuant to Virginia Code § 8.01-8. 2. Defendant Tremont Road Dental Super, PC d/b/a Spencer Dental and Braces a/k/a Kool Smiles is a Virginia corporation with a principal business address of 1090 Northchase Parkway SE, Suite 150, Marietta, Georgia 30067. Tremont Road Dental Super, PC d/b/a Spencer ' Due to the sensitive nature of this matter and her status as a minor, M.H. brings this claim under her and her parent's initials. 1Dental and Braces a/k/a Kool Smiles operates several dental clinics throughout Virginia, including Roanoke, Virginia, and offers various “affordable” dental and orthodontic services, targeting low-income families and families on Medicare and Medicaid. 3. Tremont Road Dental Super, PC d/b/a Spencer Dental and Braces was formerly Kool Smiles VAN, PC d/b/a Kool Smiles. Kool Smiles VAN, PC d/b/a Kool Smiles is associated with, affiliated with and/or controlled by Benevis, LLC, a Delaware corporation with a principal business address of 1575 Northside Drive, Suite 440, Atlanta, Georgia 30318. Benevis, LLC manages many dental clinies throughout the United States doing business as Kool Smiles, all of which target low-income families and families on Medicare and Medicaid 4. Venue is appropriate in the City of Roanoke pursuant to Virginia Code § 8.01- 262(4), as the cause of action arose in the City of Roanoke. : FACTS Background of Spencer Dental/Kool Smiles 5, Tremont Road Dental Super, PC d/b/a Spencer Dental and Braces a/k/a Kool Smiles (“Spencer Dental”) is a new name for Kool Smiles VAN, PC d/b/a Kool Smiles (“Kool Smiles”). Upon information and belief, Spencer Dental’s transition from Kool Smiles was in name only. Many, if not all, of Koo! Smiles’ general dentists continued practicing at Spencer Dental, and many, if not all, of Kool Smiles’ patients, including Plaintiff M.H., continued their treatment at Spencer Dental after Kool Smiles became Spencer Dental. 6. Upon information and belief, all present and former Kool Smiles locations throughout the United States, including Spencer Dental in Virginia, are affiliated with, associated with, and/or controlled by Benevis, LLC (“Benevis”), a dental management company.7. In January 2018, Benevis agreed to pay $23.9 million to the United States, among, other parties, to settle an action brought under the False Claims Act stemming from allegations regarding fraudulent practices at its Koo! Smiles locations. The federal government alleged, inter alia, that Kool Smiles clinics routinely pressured and incentivized dentists to meet production goals, ignored complaints from their own dentists regarding overutilization, filed false claims for unneeded dental procedures performed on children, and billed for services they did not actually render. 8. Upon information and belief, at some time following the January 2018 settlement, Benevis began the process of rebranding certain Kool Smiles locations. For example, certain Kool Smiles clinics in Connecticut became Sutton Dental; certain Kool Smiles clinics in South Carolina became Creston Dental; certain Kool Smiles clinics in Louisiana became Taylor Dental; and, as described in the preceding paragraphs, Kool Smiles clinies throughout Virginia became Spencer Dental. 9. Spencer Dental, as did Kool Smiles before it, specializes in “affordable care,”? offering various dental and orthodontic services and primarily marketing to low-income families and families on Medicare and Medicaid throughout Virginia, 10. Spencer Dental claims that “every patient is treated like an individual.”? 11. In fact, upon information and belief, Spencer Dental emphasizes quantity of patients over quality of care, resulting in long wait times for patients and frequent rescheduling. Spencer Dental’s patients are primarily low-income families and families on Medicare and Medicaid, and thus have little choice but to tolerate these conditions. 2 hups://www.spencerdentalgroup.cony > https://www.spencerdentalgroup.com/services