Skilled Healthcare Group Files Motion for Mistrial

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) filed a Motion for Mistrial or New Trial on Grounds of Juror Misconduct with the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Humboldt, earlier today in the case entitled VINNIE LAVENDER, by and through her Conservator, WANDA BAKER, WALTER SIMON; JACQUELYN VILCHINSKY vs. SKILLED HEALTHCARE GROUP, INC., et al (and 22 individually-named California nursing facilities receiving administrative services from Skilled Healthcare, LLC).  

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As previously disclosed, the Company entered into a stipulation with the other parties to the case pursuant to which, among other things, the plaintiffs agreed not to seek any relief to convert the previously announced $677 million jury verdict in the litigation to a judgment and the Company and other defendants agreed not to file a voluntary petition for relief in any United States Bankruptcy Court prior to 8:30 a.m. on August 9, 2010. This stipulation has not been extended; however, settlement discussions in this case are ongoing.  

"Although we maintain that this matter should have been rejected by the court at the outset, the loss of our right to a fair and impartial jury cannot be ignored," said Boyd Hendrickson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc.  "I was astonished by the evidence we learned about this juror's concealed bias and apparent pernicious conduct that ultimately resulted in an egregious verdict.  We take patient care very seriously and firmly believe that these skilled nursing companies are adequately and appropriately staffed."

About Skilled Healthcare Group

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. based in Foothill Ranch, California, is a holding company with subsidiary healthcare services companies, which in the aggregate had trailing twelve month revenue of approximately $768 million and approximately 14,500 employees as of June 30, 2010. Skilled Healthcare Group and its wholly-owned companies, collectively referred to as the "Company", operate long-term care facilities and provide a wide range of post-acute care services, with a strategic emphasis on sub-acute specialty health care. The Company operates long-term care facilities in California, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas, including 79 skilled nursing facilities that offer sub-acute care and rehabilitative and specialty health skilled nursing care, and 22 assisted living facilities that provide room and board and social services. In addition, the Company provides physical, occupational and speech therapy in Company-operated facilities and unaffiliated facilities. Furthermore, the Company provides hospice and home health care in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana and New Mexico. References made in this release to "Skilled Healthcare", "the Company", "we", "us" and "our" refer to Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. and each of its wholly-owned companies. More information about Skilled Healthcare is available at its Web site — www.skilledhealthcaregroup.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes "forward-looking statements". You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements contain words such as "may," "will," "project," "might," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," "continue" or "pursue," or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. In particular, they include the statements about the motion and the stipulation. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events, including the assumptions stated in this release.

Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, the actual performance of Skilled Healthcare may differ materially from that expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that the Motion for Mistrial or New Trial on Grounds of Juror Misconduct is not successful, the risk that the plaintiffs in the Lavender case seek to convert the jury verdict to a judgment after termination of the standstill period provided in the stipulation and the factors described in Skilled Healthcare's amended Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" contained therein) and in our subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K.

Any forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release. Skilled Healthcare disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc.