Five Star Senior Living lawsuits span elder abuse, wage-and-hour claims, and regulatory enforcement across more than a decade of operations. The largest single hit was a $19.2 million wrongful death and elder abuse verdict in Arizona in 2015. A California class action over unpaid overtime and missed breaks settled for roughly $3 million in 2020, and federal and state regulators have layered on fines for workplace safety, discrimination, and assisted-living violations. The company rebranded as AlerisLife in 2022, went private in 2023, and is now winding down entirely, with its managed communities transferred to new operators.
The $19.2 Million Arizona Elder Abuse Verdict
The biggest judgment against the company came out of Maricopa County Superior Court on May 26, 2015. A jury awarded the family of Doris Cote, an 86-year-old resident at The Forum at Desert Harbor in Peoria, $2.5 million in compensatory damages and $16.7 million in punitive damages after a roughly three-week trial.1Courtroom Cast by LexisNexis. Doris Lucille Cote, et al. v. Five Star Quality Care Inc., et al. Trial
The family alleged that staff at the Five Star Quality Care facility failed to prevent infected bedsores and concealed signs of decline, including severe weight loss. The jury found Five Star liable for causing Cote pain and suffering but concluded the facility was not directly responsible for her death.2Knapp & Roberts. Largest Nursing Home Abuse Verdicts
The $3 Million California Wage-and-Hour Settlement
A former employee sued Five Star Quality Care Inc. in 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Case No. 5:15-cv-01305), bringing both class action and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims. The complaint alleged the company failed to pay overtime, denied proper meal and rest breaks, paid wages late, issued inaccurate pay stubs, and did not reimburse business expenses.3Top Class Actions. $3M Settlement Resolves Nursing Home Employees Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit
The proposed class covered more than 250 current and former California employees. In December 2020, Five Star agreed to a $3,062,000 settlement. About $500,000 went directly to affected workers, roughly $17 per pay period per employee over a five-year span. The remainder covered attorney fees and civil penalties owed to California. Five Star admitted no wrongdoing.3Top Class Actions. $3M Settlement Resolves Nursing Home Employees Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit4Workplace Rights Law. Senior Care Facility Settles Class Action Lawsuit
The Supreme Court Arbitration Fight
The same California dispute generated a procedural detour that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In Five Star Senior Living Inc. v. Mandviwala (Docket No. 17-1357), the company argued the Federal Arbitration Act preempted California’s “Iskanian rule,” which barred employers from using arbitration agreements to block representative PAGA claims. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce backed Five Star, calling the rule “an end-run around arbitration agreements for PAGA claims.”5U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Five Star Senior Living Inc. v. Mandviwala The Supreme Court denied certiorari on June 25, 2018.6SCOTUSblog. Five Star Senior Living Inc. v. Mandviwala The lead plaintiff’s individual claims were ordered to arbitration, while the class and PAGA components moved forward to the eventual settlement.7CourtListener. Melinda Mandviwala v. Five Star Quality Care, Inc.
OSHA, OFCCP, and Wage-Hour Fines
Federal regulators have cited Five Star and its affiliates repeatedly. Since 2000, OSHA has issued ten citations for workplace safety and health violations, totaling $86,437. The largest single penalty was $23,222 against Five Star Senior Living in 2023. Other 2023 citations hit Five Star Quality Care subsidiaries in North Carolina at $10,000 and $6,500. Earlier fines included $7,900 in 2011, $7,140 the same year against a facility doing business as Morys Haven, and $8,415 in 2013.8Violation Tracker (Good Jobs First). AlerisLife Violation Tracker
In 2018, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs assessed a $50,000 penalty against Five Star Quality Care for employment discrimination. Public records do not identify the facility or the specific allegations. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division added a $19,173 penalty against a North Carolina subsidiary in 2013 and $8,872 against the parent in 2008.8Violation Tracker (Good Jobs First). AlerisLife Violation Tracker
Florida State Findings at Five Star Premier Residences of Hollywood
One community drew sustained attention from Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration. Five Star Premier Residences of Hollywood, an assisted living community at 2480 North Park Road, was fined $7,500 in 2014 after a resident eloped, wandered to a nearby lake, and was found unresponsive. An earlier $2,000 fine was imposed in 2012.9Senior Justice. Violations at Five Star Premier Residences of Hollywood
Three AHCA surveys in August, October, and November 2019 identified additional problems:
- Health assessment forms missing information about residents’ daily living needs and medication self-administration abilities.
- Uncorrected 2018 fire safety citations, including an unpermitted fire pump installation, broken sprinklers, painted-shut breaker panels, and defective exit doors and lighting.
- No fall-risk or elopement-risk documentation for a resident who fell, despite a known history of both.
- Grievance logs showing only two complaints even though residents had raised documented concerns about food quality and staff communication.
Records identify the issues as inspection findings rather than lawsuits.9Senior Justice. Violations at Five Star Premier Residences of Hollywood
What Happened to the Company
Five Star Senior Living managed senior housing communities owned by Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC), a real estate investment trust run by The RMR Group. In April 2021, DHC and Five Star restructured their arrangement, transitioning 108 communities with about 7,500 units to ten new regional operators while Five Star kept management of 120 communities covering roughly 18,000 units.10Diversified Healthcare Trust. Diversified Healthcare Trust Agrees to Amend Management Agreements With Five Star Senior Living Inc.
On January 26, 2022, Five Star Senior Living rebranded as AlerisLife Inc. and began trading under the ticker “ALR” on the Nasdaq the next day.11Nasdaq. Five Star Senior Living Rebranding as AlerisLife12Senior Housing News. AlerisLife Now Private After Acquisition by ABP Completed13BusinessWire. ABP Acquisition to Acquire AlerisLife for $1.31 Per Share
In September 2025, AlerisLife announced it would sell all its assets, including 17 owned communities, and transfer management of 116 DHC communities to seven new operators.14Senior Housing News. AlerisLife Winding Down Business, Transitioning 116 DHC Communities to 7 Operators Transitions began that month and were substantially complete by early 2026. AlerisLife is expected to finish winding down in the first half of 2026, ending the Five Star Senior Living name.15McKnight’s Senior Living. Five Star Senior Living Parent AlerisLife to Sell All Assets, Wind Down Business For anyone with a live claim, that matters: the defendant on old Five Star matters is a corporate entity in the process of dissolving, not an operating company.