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
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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.
1Dental 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
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