1329
. (a) When a receiver is appointed, the licensee may, at the
discretion of the court, be divested of possession and control of the
facility in favor of the receiver. The receiver appointed pursuant
to this article:
(1) May exercise those powers and shall perform those duties
ordered by the court, in addition to other duties provided by
statute.
(2) Shall operate the facility in a manner which assures safety
and adequate health care for the residents.
(3) Shall have the same rights to possession of the building in
which the facility is located, and of all goods and fixtures in the
building at the time the petition for receivership is filed, as the
licensee and administrator would have had if the receiver had not
been appointed.
(4) May use the funds, building, fixtures, furnishings, and any
accompanying consumable goods in the provision of care and services
to residents and to any other persons receiving services from the
facility at the time the petition for receivership was filed.
(5) Shall take title to all revenue coming to the facility in the
name of the receiver who shall use it for the following purposes in
descending order of priority:
(A) To pay wages to staff. The receiver shall have full power to
hire, direct, manage, and discharge employees of the facility,
subject to any contractual rights they may have. The receiver shall
pay employees at the same rate of compensation, including benefits,
that the employees would have received from the licensee.
(B) To preserve patient funds. The receiver shall be entitled to,
and shall take, possession of all property or assets of residents
which are in the possession of the licensee or operator of the
facility. The receiver shall preserve all property, assets, and
records of residents of which the receiver takes possession.
(C) To contract for outside services as may be needed for the
operation of the long-term health care facility. Any contract for
outside services in excess of three thousand dollars ($3,000) shall
be approved by the court.
(D) To pay commercial creditors of the long-term health care
facility. Except as provided in Section 1329.5, the receiver shall
honor all leases, mortgages, and secured transactions affecting the
building in which the facility is located and all goods and fixtures
in the building of which the receiver has taken possession, but only
to the extent of payments which, in the case of a rental agreement,
are for the use of the property during the period of receivership, or
which, in the case of a purchase agreement, come due during the
period of receivership.
(E) To receive a salary, as approved by the court.
(F) To do all things necessary and proper to maintain and operate
the facility in accordance with sound fiscal policies. The receiver
shall take action as is reasonably necessary to protect or conserve
the assets or property of which the receiver takes possession and may
use such assets or property only in the performance of the powers
and duties set out in this section and by order of the court.
(G) To ask the court for direction in the treatment of debts
incurred prior to the appointment, where the licensee's debts appear
extraordinary, of questionable validity, or unrelated to the normal
and expected maintenance and operation of the facility, or where
payment of the debts will interfere with the purposes of
receivership.
(b) A person who is served with notice of an order of the court
appointing a receiver and of the receiver's name and address shall be
liable to pay the receiver, rather than the licensee, for any goods
or services provided by the long-term health care facility after the
date of the order. The receiver shall give a receipt for each payment
and shall keep a copy of each receipt on file. The receiver shall
deposit amounts received in a special account and shall use this
account for all disbursements. Payment to the receiver pursuant to
this subdivision shall discharge the obligation to the extent of the
payment and shall not thereafter be the basis of a claim by the
licensee or any other person. A resident may not be discharged nor
may any contract or rights be forfeited or impaired, nor may any
forfeiture be effected or liability increased, by reason of an
omission to pay the licensee, operator, or other person a sum paid to
the receiver pursuant to this subdivision.
(c) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to
suspend, during the temporary management by the receiver, any
obligation of the licensee for payment of local, state, or federal
taxes. No licensee may be held liable for acts or omissions of the
receiver during the term of the temporary management.
(d) Upon petition of the receiver, the court may order immediate
payment to the receiver for past services which have been rendered
and billed, and the court may also order a sum not to exceed one
month's advance payment to the receiver of any sums that will become
payable under the Medi-Cal program.