A California doctor who ran as a Democrat for Congress is facing a lawsuit accusing her of using patients' medical records to disseminate campaign propaganda during her 2026 midterm election bid.
Dr. Sonia Devgan-Kacker, owner of Westlake Village Urgent Care, is being sued by former patient Sean Rose. The suit claims that during Devgan-Kacker's campaign for the 26th Congressional District seat, Rose received a text message from the urgent care facility in May 2026. The message reportedly began with a paid political advertisement for "Dr. Sonia," featuring her photo and credentials, followed by a statement about the clinic's operating hours during the campaign. The text also included a link to Devgan-Kacker's campaign website and a reminder to vote on June 2.
According to the lawsuit, the phone number on the political advertisement belonged to Devgan-Kacker's campaign, not the clinic. Rose's suit questions why a message about clinic hours would originate from a congressional campaign instead of directly from the clinic to its patients.
The clinic admitted in an email to Rose on May 21 that the campaign had used patient records to send the text messages. The email stated that Rose was a former patient and the text message was sent to all previous patients. Later, the clinic reportedly sent another email attempting to retract its previous statement, claiming the outreach was geographically targeted and not intended to identify or contact individuals based on patient status.
Rose disputes this claim, noting that he lived within the 26th district when he was a patient but has since moved to the 29th district. The suit argues that if the campaign had used public voter data, it would have shown Rose was registered in the 29th district.
The class-action suit cites The California Confidentiality of Medical Records Act, which prohibits healthcare providers from disclosing patient medical information without authorization. Devgan-Kacker ran for Congress after incumbent Congresswoman Julia Brownley announced she would not seek re-election in the 26th district. Devgan-Kacker's campaign did not advance past the primary election in June 2026. Rose is seeking statutory and punitive damages, asserting that the clinic violated the medical records act.