Brea nursing home operator will pay $2 million to settle suit

By Susannah Rosenblatt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 22, 2008 The class-action case against Sun-Mar Heath Care Inc. (operates 18 skilled nursing facilities) alleged substandard care. About 4,000 elderly patients, who lived in the facilities between January 2005 and January 2008, joined the lawsuit. According to the suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, the care advertised by Brea-based Sun-Mar Health Care Inc. did not reflect problems -- such as inadequate staffing -- found by state regulators.