Angela Patton, Alexia L. v. Gregory A. Miller, M.D., Rock Hill Gynecological & Obstetrical Assocs., P.A.

• Decision Date: 26 July 2017
• Docket Number: Opinion No. 27730.
• Citation: 420 S.C. 471,804 S.E.2d 252
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: Angela PATTON, as Next Friend of Alexia L., a minor, Petitioner, v. Gregory A. MILLER, M.D., Rock Hill Gynecological & Obstetrical Associates, P.A. and Amisub of South Carolina, d/b/a Piedmont Medical Center, Respondents.

420 S.C. 471

804 S.E.2d 252

Angela PATTON, as Next Friend of Alexia L., a minor, Petitioner,

v.Gregory A. MILLER, M.D., Rock Hill Gynecological & Obstetrical Associates, P.A. and Amisub of South Carolina, d/b/a Piedmont Medical Center, Respondents.

Opinion No. 27730.

Supreme Court of South Carolina.

Heard December 14, 2016

Filed July 26, 2017

Rehearing Denied September 27, 2017

John Layton Ruffin, Edward L. Graham, and Diane M. Rodriguez, of Graham Law Firm, PA, all of Florence, for Petitioner.

Ashby W. Davis, of Davis, Snyder, Williford & Lehn, P.A., of Greenville; R. Hawthorne Barrett and Thomas C. Salane, both of Turner Padget Graham & Laney, PA, of Columbia; William U. Gunn and Joshua Tate Thompson, both of Holcombe Bomar, PA, of Columbia, all for Respondents.

JUSTICE FEW :

The question posed in this appeal is whether a minor may bring an action for her own medical expenses. The answer depends on whether she is the "real party in interest," and any dispute over the answer is governed by Rule 17(a) of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.

I. Facts and Procedural History

Alexia L. was born on April 5, 2007, at Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill. Gregory A. Miller, M.D., was the obstetrician who delivered her. Alexia's mother—Angela Patton—filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in November 2009 against Dr. Miller and the professional association where he practiced, Rock Hill Gynecological & Obstetrical Associates, P.A. Patton filed the lawsuit only in her capacity as Alexia's "next friend."¹ She sought damages from Dr. Miller and Rock Hill Obstetrical for Alexia's injuries and past and future medical expenses.

In March 2012, Patton filed a separate medical malpractice lawsuit against Amisub of South Carolina, which owns and does business as Piedmont Medical Center. She also filed the Amisub lawsuit only in her capacity as Alexia's next friend, and sought the same damages she sought in the first lawsuit. In July 2012, the parties consented to consolidate the two cases, and Patton—again acting only as Alexia's next friend—filed an amended complaint naming Dr. Miller, Rock Hill Obstetrical, and Amisub as defendants. In the amended complaint, as in the first two, Patton did not make any claim in her individual capacity. The only claims she made were Alexia's claims, which she made in her representative capacity as Alexia's next friend.

Patton's theory of liability was that the defendants—primarily Dr. Miller—"improperly managed the resolution of shoulder dystocia^{[2 ]}... and that such mismanagement caused permanent injury to Alexia's left-sided brachial plexus^{[3 ]} nerves." Patton sought damages for Alexia's pain and suffering, disability, loss of earning capacity, and other harm she contends resulted from this injury. Patton also sought damages for Alexia's medical expenses.

The fact that Patton brought the claim for medical expenses only in her representative capacity as Alexia's next friend—and not in Patton's own capacity—is at the center of this appeal. Dr. Miller, Rock Hill Obstetrical, and Amisub moved for partial summary judgment on the basis of this fact. They argued the circuit court should dismiss the claim for medical expenses because only a parent—not the child—has the right to recover damages for a minors' medical expenses. The defendants argued, in other words, Patton could recover for Alexia's medical expenses if she sued in her own capacity, but she may not recover them in her capacity as Alexia's representative. The circuit court agreed and granted partial summary judgment to all three defendants. The court found "the minor plaintiff may not maintain a cause of action for [her medical] expenses in her own right."

Patton filed two motions in response to the circuit court's order. First, she filed a motion to alter or amend the summary judgment pursuant to Rule 59(e) of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. She also filed a motion to amend her complaint pursuant to Rule 15 to "change [her] capacity ... from Next Friend to her individual capacity." She asked that the amendment relate back to the date of her original complaint, as provided for in Rule 15(c). The circuit court denied both motions.

Patton appealed to the court of appeals, which affirmed in an unpublished opinion. Patton v. Miller , Op. No. 2015-UP-367, 2015 WL 4467372 (S.C. Ct. App. filed July 22, 2015). We granted Patton's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision. We reverse that portion of the circuit court's order that awards partial summary judgment to Dr. Miller and Rock Hill Obstetrical, affirm the award of partial summary judgment to Amisub, and remand to the circuit court.

II. Rule 17, SCRCP —The Proper Plaintiff

By claiming that only a parent—not the child—may bring a claim for the child's medical expenses, the defendants invoked the "real party in interest" requirement of Rule 17(a) of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides, "Every action shall be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest." A real party in interest is "the party who, by the substantive law, has the right sought to be enforced. It is ownership of the right sought to be enforced which qualifies one as a real party in interest." Bank of Am., N.A. v. Draper , 405 S.C. 214, 220, 746 S.E.2d 478, 481 (Ct. App. 2013) ; see also 6A Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1541 (3d ed. 2010) (stating Rule 17(a) provides "that the action should be brought in the name of the party who possesses the substantive right being asserted under the applicable law...."); 6 Cyclopedia of Federal Procedure § 21.7 (3d ed., rev. 2017) ("The ‘real party in interest’ ... is defined as the person holding the substantive right to be enforced, and not necessarily the person who will ultimately benefit from the recovery.").

The requirement that an action must be brought by the real party in interest is not a new requirement. Section 134 of our 1867 Code provided, "Every action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest...." S.C. Code § 134 (1867). The "real party in interest" requirement can be found in all subsequent versions of the Code including the 1976 Code. S.C. Code Ann. § 15-5-70 (1976) (repealed 1985). As the Reporter's Note to Rule 17(a) indicates, "The first sentence ... [is] substantially the same as Code §§ 15-5-70 and 80."

The defendants and the circuit court rely primarily on two cases in which we applied the real party in interest requirement to a claim for a minor's medical expenses. In Hughey v. Ausborn , 249 S.C. 470, 154 S.E.2d 839 (1967), we stated "the amount paid for medical care and treatment by the parent is not an element of damage" in a cause of action brought by the minor, but rather "the parent has a cause of action for the recovery of the medical expenses which he has incurred for the care and treatment of such minor." 249 S.C. at 475, 154 S.E.2d at 841 ; see S.C. Code § 10-207 (1962) (stating the real party in interest requirement). In Tucker v. Buffalo Cotton Mills , 76 S.C. 539, 57 S.E. 626 (1907), we stated a "father suing merely as guardian ad litem for injuries to his infant child cannot recover for [the child's medical] expenses" because "the father himself is personally liable" to pay those expenses. 76 S.C. at 542, 57 S.E. at 627 ; see Code of Civil Procedure of South Carolina § 132 (1902) (stating the real party in interest requirement). See also Hughey , 249 S.C. at 476, 154 S.E.2d at 841 (explaining that the basis of the parent's right to recover the damages is the parent's obligation to pay the child's medical expenses); 67A C.J.S. Parent and Child § 352 (2013) ("The parental right to recover expenses when a child is injured stems from the parents' legal obligation to support a child."). Applying the real party in interest requirement to the facts of those cases, we recognized that the legal obligation to pay a medical bill renders the person who holds that obligation the proper party to bring a claim, or the "real party in interest." This is the principle of law relied on by the defendants and the circuit court, and it is the same principle embodied in the definition of real party in interest set forth in Draper .

We must determine, therefore, whether Patton—in her capacity as Alexia's next friend and not in her own capacity—meets the real party in interest requirement on her claim for Alexia's medical expenses. In particular, we must determine whether Patton's representative claim for Alexia's medical expenses is consistent with our application of the real party in interest requirement to similar claims in Hughey and Tucker . We begin our analysis with Patton's description in her briefs to the court of appeals and this Court of the medical expenses she sought to recover:

Following her injuries, Alexia has received necessary and proper treatment from a host of healthcare providers, including a nerve resection surgery. Alexia will need additional surgeries and other treatment continuing until her eighteenth birthday, as well as continued treatment after she reaches the age of majority. Accordingly, she will incur future medical bills during her entire lifetime.

These medical expenses fall into three categories. First, Patton seeks to recover for medical expenses that will have been incurred at the time of trial. These include the cost of the nerve resection surgery that has already been performed. Second, Patton seeks to recover for expenses that will be incurred in the future, but before Alexia turns eighteen. Third, Patton seeks to recover for expenses Alexia will incur after she reaches the age of eighteen, which Patton contends Alexia will incur "during her entire lifetime."

Applying Hughey , Tucker , and Draper to the third category of medical expenses Patton seeks to recover—those Alexia will incur after turning eighteen—Alexia is clearly the real party in interest on a claim for those expenses. At that time she will...