A lawsuit was re-filed this week in Santa Maria, against Michael Jackson, Marian Medical Center, and Catholic Healthcare West.

The family of Manuela Ruiz says the 73-year-old patient was pushed out of her own hospital room to make space for Michael Jackson back in 2005. At the time, Ruiz was in critical condition and on life support. She later died.

The lawsuit names four members of Ruiz’s family, who allege elder abuse and distress caused by the hospital.

No court date has been set.

In August 2007, Judge Rodney Melville, who had also served as judge in Michael’s child molestation trial, had ordered that the lawsuit previously filed by the family could not continue as filed. He thus allowed challenges to the complaint filed by attorneys for Michael and the hospital. They argued that the facts did not support the complaint. The judge gave the plaintiff’s attorney 30 days to redraft the complaint.

Source: KSBY 6 Action News