Dudensing Law Secures $110 Million Jury Verdict in Case Exposing Role of REIT and Private Equity Ownership in Assisted Living Facility Resident’s Death
March 6, 2026
Originally published by
dudensinglaw.com
On March 3, 2026, a Sacramento County jury returned a $110 million total verdict in favor of the family of Mildred Hernandez, a 100-year-old assisted living resident who died after wandering outside her facility and freezing to death. The verdict was secured by Dudensing Law founder Ed Dudensing and fellow attorneys Jay Renneisen and Rolando Hidalgo after a two-month trial before Judge Jeffrey Galvin. It holds a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT), Colony Capital, and a private equity firm, Formation Capital, responsible for corporate decisions that left residents at serious risk.
The jury found that the corporate defendants engaged in conduct constituting malice, oppression, and/or fraud. The verdict includes $7.5 million for Mildred Hernandez’s pre-death pain and suffering, $2.7 million in wrongful death damages awarded to her four adult daughters, $92 million in punitive damages against Colony Capital, and $8 million in punitive damages against Formation Capital.
Mildred Hernandez lived at Greenhaven Estates in Sacramento for more than five years and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. On February 12, 2019, she exited the facility during the night through a nearby door leading to a courtyard with a steep stairway. She suffered injuries and was found outside a self-locking door in the early morning hours (and 38-degree weather) and transported by ambulance to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Hernandez was a known elopement risk and that the facility failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect her. Jurors heard extensive evidence that Greenhaven Estates had been operating in a state of serious disarray for at least three years before Hernandez’s death and that the facility was already facing a state accusation seeking revocation of its license due to systemic care failures. Formation Capital and Colony Capital knew of ongoing operational failures at Greenhaven Estates but failed to take meaningful action to address them.
At trial, the Dudensing Law trial team, led by Ed Dudensing, demonstrated how the facility was embedded within a layered corporate structure typical of private equity–owned senior housing facilities. Frontier Management oversaw day-to-day operations, while Formation Capital served as the asset manager. Above Formation Capital sat Colony Capital, a publicly traded REIT with an approximate market value of $2.82 billion. It was the beneficial owner of the facility as part of its larger “Eclipse portfolio.”
Jurors heard that despite years of safety issues and regulatory concerns, the companies continued operating the facility while prioritizing financial performance over resident care.
“This $110 verdict confirms what we knew from day one: Mildred Hernandez died alone in the cold because the large public REIT and private equity companies that were responsible for overseeing Greenhaven Estates turned a blind eye to operations at the facility that had been dangerous to residents for several years before Mildred’s death,” said Ed Dudensing. “When Mildred died, the state had filed an Accusation to revoke its licenses because of systemic care failures. Colony Capital and Formation Capital were well aware of these failures and had all the necessary resources to address them, but they failed to act. Corporations that reap the profits of operations of facilities like Greenhaven Estates must be held to account when they fail to do their jobs. We are proud to have secured this outcome for the Hernandez family and remain steadfast in advocating for the rights and protections of vulnerable individuals.”
In a statement following the verdict, the Hernandez family said: “Our mother deserved to live out her final years with dignity, safety, and compassion. Instead, she died alone in the cold because Greenhaven Estates and its corporate overseers failed to provide the most basic protection they promised. While no verdict can bring our mother back, we hope this outcome will prevent other families from suffering the same heartbreak and force these companies to prioritize the well-being of the vulnerable seniors entrusted to their care. We are grateful to our attorneys for their tireless dedication and to the jury for recognizing that what happened to our mother was wrong and preventable.”
The case underscores growing concerns about the role of REITs and private equity in the ownership and operation of long-term care facilities, where complex corporate structures can distance decision-makers from the consequences of unsafe conditions.
Read more about the verdict in coverage from KCRA Sacramento, Yahoo News, California Post, Sacramento Business Journal, Little Things, MSN, The Daily Journal, The Sacramento Bee, ABC 10, The Recorder, and ALM.