DocketNumber: 2140366.
Citation Numbers: 241 So. 3d 705
Judges: Moore
Filed Date: 7/17/2015
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/29/2022
Alfa Mutual Insurance Company ("Alfa") appeals from a judgment of the Mobile Circuit Court ("the trial court") in favor of the University of South Alabama d/b/a University of South Alabama Medical Center Hospital ("South"). We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the case with instructions.
Procedural History
On May 27, 2014, the South filed a complaint against Alfa and a number of fictitiously named defendants, asserting that Alfa had impaired South's hospital lien, which it attached as an exhibit to the complaint. Alfa filed an answer to the complaint. On August 11, 2014, the parties filed a stipulation of facts, which stated, in pertinent part, that Abaney T. Wright had been admitted to a hospital operated by South in Mobile County on May 21, 2013, for hospital care, treatment, and maintenance for injuries she had received in an automobile accident less than one week before her admission; that Wright died on account of her injuries on May 21, 2013, at South's hospital; that Wright incurred reasonable medical charges for her necessary care, treatment, and maintenance totaling $36,438.50; that, at the time of her injury, treatment, and death, Wright was covered under a contract of insurance issued by Alfa to Wright's father and that that policy provided that Alfa would provide a medical-payment benefit of $2,000, the policy limit, for necessary medical and funeral services because of bodily injury caused by an automobile accident for covered persons, which included Wright; that South had perfected a hospital lien in the amount of $30,900.50 by filing a notice thereof on May 30, 2013, pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 35-11-370 et seq., with the Mobile Probate Court; that Alfa had issued a draft in the amount of $2,000 to Wright's parents for the payment of funeral expenses on July 23, 2013; that, on August 22, 2013, South had filed an amended hospital lien in the amount of $36,438.50 with the Mobile Probate Court; and that, on August 27, 2013, Alfa had issued a draft to South's counsel in the amount of $2,000, that South had not negotiated the draft, and that the draft was voided by its terms on August 27, 2014.
On August 12, 2014, South filed a motion for a summary judgment on its claims against Alfa. Alfa filed a cross-motion for a summary judgment on August 13, 2014. Following a hearing, the trial court entered a judgment on December 29, 2014, which stated:
"Upon consideration of the pleadings, Stipulation of Facts, and arguments of counsel, the Court finds it is controlled by Progressive Specialty Ins. Co. v. University of Alabama Hosp.,953 So.2d 413 (Ala.Civ.App.2006), and therefore enters Judgment in favor of [South] for the reasonable medical charges in the amount of $36,438.50 (stipulation number four). The Court additionally enters Judgment in the amount of $5,166.69 representing costs and attorney's fees based upon the conditional stipulation of [Alfa] that, should Judgment be entered in favor of [South], this is a reasonable sum for costs and attorney's fees."
Alfa timely filed its notice of appeal to this court on February 3, 2015.
Discussion
Section 35-11-370, Ala.Code 1975 ("the hospital-lien statute"), states:
"Any person, firm, hospital authority, or corporation operating a hospital in this state shall have a lien for all reasonable charges for hospital care, treatment, and maintenance of an injured person who entered such hospital within one week after receiving such injuries, upon any and all actions, claims, counterclaims, *707and demands accruing to the person to whom such care, treatment, or maintenance was furnished, or accruing to the legal representatives of such person, and upon all judgments, settlements, and settlement agreements entered into by virtue thereof on account of injuries giving rise to such actions, claims, counterclaims, demands, judgments, settlements, or settlement agreements and which necessitated such hospital care, subject, however, to any attorney's lien."
Alfa first argues on appeal that this court should overrule its opinion in Progressive Specialty Insurance Co. v. University of Alabama Hospital,
Alfa argues that, in Progressive, the appellant argued only that the hospital-lien statute should be construed in light of another statute that is part of the Workers' Compensation Act, § 25-5-1 et seq., Ala.Code 1975, and that the appellant did not argue that the principles of statutory construction should apply to the hospital-lien statute itself. Although this court noted in Progressive that the appellant had limited its argument to a comparison of the workers' compensation statute, this court proceeded to consider the rules of statutory construction, as well as additional authority, requiring that the hospital-lien statute was to be construed broadly by this court in reaching its decision.
Alfa also attacks Mitchell v. Huntsville Hospital,
Alfa next argues that this court should adopt the Tennessee Supreme Court's interpretation of a "nearly identical hospital lien statute" in Shelby County Health Care Corp. v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.,
Alfa further argues in a footnote that, although the Alabama Supreme Court has said that the hospital-lien statute is to be interpreted broadly, see Guin v. Carraway Methodist Med. Ctr.,
Alfa has failed to raise any arguments on appeal that require us to reconsider our holding in Progressive. The Alabama Supreme Court noted in Ex parte Jackson,
Alfa next asks this court to rule that the Alabama Supreme Court's decision in University of South Alabama v. Progressive Insurance Co.,
Alfa next argues that the trial court erred in failing to conclude that South failed to mitigate damages following Alfa's offer of payment of its funeral-benefit-policy limits to South before South commenced the present action. Alfa cites Avco Financial Services, Inc. v. Ramsey,
"We begin our analysis by recognizing the longstanding rule that the law imposes upon all parties who seek recompense from another a duty to mitigate their losses or damages. Aetna Life Insurance Co. v. Lavoie,470 So.2d 1060 (Ala.1984). It is equally well established that a plaintiff can recover only for that damage or loss that would have been sustained if the plaintiff had exercised such care as a reasonably prudent person would have exercised under like circumstances to mitigate the damage or loss (Equilease Corp. v. McKinney,52 Ala.App. 109 ,289 So.2d 809 (1974)); and whether the plaintiff has sufficiently mitigated the damages, generally speaking, is a question of fact. Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Goodin,535 So.2d 98 (Ala. 1988).
"Stated otherwise, the injured or damaged party is legally bound to lessen the recoverable damages so far as is practicable by the use of ordinary care and diligence. Thus, the rule of mitigation requires a party suffering injury, damage, or loss to take reasonable steps to reduce it.
"The rule of mitigation finds its application only in the context of evidence *710from which the factfinder may reasonably infer that the claimant rejected a reasonable course of action that an ordinarily prudent person would have taken under similar circumstances to minimize the injury, damage, or loss. In other words, the party seeking to invoke the rule must meet a threshold `sufficiency of the evidence' test, lest the issue be resolved against the movant as a matter of law. The rule does not apply where the injured party, in an effort to minimize the loss, would be required to incur considerable personal risk or expense with but a slight chance of an alternative recovery. Id."
South argues on appeal that acceptance of the offer of payment in the amount of $2,000 by Alfa would have created waiver and estoppel arguments to any action by South against Alfa, which, South argues, would have created an unnecessary risk of extra expenses in responding to those arguments. We agree that those considerations could require additional risk and expense by South, therefore we hold, as a matter of law, that requiring South to have accepted Alfa's offer of $2,000 as mitigation would constitute an unreasonable prerequisite to South's right to proceed against Alfa. See Ramsey,
We note further that Alfa fails, in contravention of Rule 28(a)(10), Ala. R.App. P., to cite any authority indicating that South was required to mitigate its statutorily defined damages. See § 35-11-372 and University of S. Alabama v. Progressive,
Alfa last argues that the trial court erred in entering a judgment based upon the amount of South's amended lien, rather than the amount of the lien that had been perfected at the time of Alfa's alleged impairment of the lien. South attached to its complaint copies of a hospital lien filed on May 30, 2013, in the amount of $30,900.50, and of an amended hospital lien filed on August 22, 2013, in the amount of $36,438.50; the parties stipulated to those dates and amounts in their stipulation of facts. The parties also stipulated that Alfa had issued a draft in the amount of $2,000 to Wright's parents on July 23, 2013.
Section 35-11-372 provides, in pertinent part, that, "[d]uring the period of time allowed by Section 35-11-371 for perfecting the lien ... and also after the lien ... has been perfected," any impairment of such lien entitles the lienholder to recover "the reasonable cost of such hospital care, treatment and maintenance." Section 35-11-371(a) provides that, in order to perfect the hospital lien, it shall be filed "before or within 10 days after such person shall have been discharged" and the filing of the lien "shall be notice thereof to all persons, firms, or corporations liable for such damages whether or not they are named in such claim or lien." The parties stipulated that Wright died on May 21, 2013. Thus, in accordance with § 35-11-371(a), in order for the hospital lien to be perfected, it *711was required to have been filed by May 31, 2013.
In Ex parte Infinity Southern Insurance Co.,
"[T]he hospital has an automatic lien for its reasonable charges, against the patient's actions and claims. § 35-11-370. Upon perfection of the lien in the manner provided in § 35-11-371, the hospital's lien is protected, pursuant to § 35-11-372, from impairment by one settling an action or claim without obtaining a release or satisfaction of the lien. If the patient settles with the tortfeasor and the hospital has failed to perfect its lien, the hospital's only remedy is against the patient. If the patient settles with the tortfeasor after the lien has been perfected, the hospital has a remedy against both the tortfeasor and the tortfeasor's insurer for impairing the lien, pursuant to § 35-11-372."
South cites Board of Trustees of University of Alabama ex rel. University of Alabama Hospital v. American Resources Insurance Co.,
South argues that the trial court entered its judgment based on the parties' stipulation that South had incurred reasonable charges for necessary care, treatment, and maintenance totaling $36,438.50. Indeed, the trial court's judgment cites that stipulation in its judgment. That stipulation does not indicate, however, that, at the time of Alfa's payment of $2,000 to Wright's family, Alfa was on notice as to that amount for reasonable medical charges. Because South was not entitled to the amount stated in its amended lien but, rather, was entitled only to the amount in its May 30, 2013, lien, which was properly perfected, we reverse the trial court's judgment awarding the amount stated in the amended lien and remand the case with instructions to the trial court to enter a judgment modifying its award for reasonable medical charges to the amount stated in South's perfected lien.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
PITTMAN, THOMAS, and DONALDSON, JJ., concur.
THOMPSON, P.J., concurs specially.
THOMPSON, Presiding Judge, concurring specially.
Under the circumstances of this case, I believe that requiring Alfa Mutual Insurance Company ("Alfa") to pay the entire amount of the medical bill Abaney T. Wright incurred at the University of South Alabama d/b/a University of South Alabama Medical Center Hospital ("USA") is unduly harsh. Without prompting from *712USA, Alfa attempted to rectify its error of directly paying Wright's parents $2,000 - an amount equaling the limits of the "medical and funeral expenses" coverage provided under the Wrights' automobile-insurance policy covering Abaney - by tendering to USA a draft in the amount of $2,000 approximately one month after making the payment to the Wrights. Nonetheless, because Alfa had already "impaired" USA's hospital lien, USA did not negotiate the draft, and Alfa became liable for the entire bill of $30,900.50.
I do not believe that the legislature intended such an inequitable result when it enacted §§ 35-11-370 and -372, Ala.Code 1975. However, based on the arguments Alfa advanced in the trial court and on appeal, as well as the current caselaw, especially the opinions from our supreme court, the holdings of which this court cannot alter, I am compelled to agree with the disposition of this case.