Chambliss v. Stohler

• Decision Date: 30 June 2003
• Docket Number: No. E2002-02413-COA-R3-CV.,E2002-02413-COA-R3-CV.
• Citation: 124 S.W.3d 116
• Parties: Gloria Jean CHAMBLISS, et al. v. Dennis L. STOHLER, M.D., P.C., et al.
• Court: Tennessee Court of Appeals

124 S.W.3d 116

Gloria Jean CHAMBLISS, et al. v. Dennis L. STOHLER, M.D., P.C., et al.

No. E2002-02413-COA-R3-CV.

Court of Appeals of Tennessee, Eastern Section, at Knoxville.

May 12, 2003 Session.

June 30, 2003.

Permission to Appeal Denied by Supreme Court December 15, 2003.

Kenneth O. Fritz, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the Appellants, Gloria Jean Chambliss and Willie Chambliss.

H. Dean Clements and Robert L. Haun, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Dennis L. Stohler, M.D., P.C.

Before D. MICHAEL SWINEY, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which HERSCHEL P. FRANKS, J., and CHARLES D. SUSANO, Jr., J., joined.

OPINION

Gloria Jean Chambliss saw Dennis L. Stohler, M.D. ("Defendant") for medical care and treatment for problems related to her right knee. Ms. Chambliss was dissatisfied with the results of Defendant's treatment. Ms. Chambliss and her husband, Willie Chambliss ("Plaintiffs") sued Defendant for medical malpractice. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, which the Trial Court granted. Plaintiffs filed a Tenn. R. Civ. P. 59.04 motion to alter or amend the judgment and also a motion to allow the filing of an amended affidavit of Plaintiffs' expert. The Trial Court denied the motions to alter or amend. Plaintiffs appeal. We affirm.

Background

Ms. Chambliss sought medical treatment from Defendant for problems with her right knee. In 1999, Defendant performed a total right knee arthroplasty on Ms. Chambliss. Ms. Chambliss complained of pain following the surgery and approximately one month post-surgery, Defendant performed a closed manipulation on Ms. Chambliss's right knee. Ms. Chambliss continued to complain of pain after the closed manipulation. In 2000, Defendant performed an arthrotomy on Ms. Chambliss's right knee. Ms. Chambliss continued to experience pain and sought an opinion from another physician. Ms. Chambliss then had a third right knee surgery, which was performed by another physician. Plaintiffs, Gloria Jean Chambliss and her husband, Willie Chambliss, sued Defendant and Memorial Hospital, but later nonsuited Memorial Hospital.

Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment supported by Defendant's expert affidavit opining that he knows the recognized standard of acceptable professional practice for a medical doctor practicing his speciality in the Chattanooga/Hamilton County community at the applicable time, and that he did not fall below the applicable standard of care in his treatment of Ms. Chambliss. Plaintiffs filed an expert affidavit from Dr. G. Lee Cross, III, along with affidavits of Ms. Chambliss and Mr. Chambliss in opposition to the motion for summary judgment. The Trial Court held that Dr. Cross's affidavit did not create a genuine issue of fact as to proximate cause, an essential element of Plaintiffs' claim. The Trial Court granted Defendant summary judgment. Plaintiffs filed a Tenn. R. Civ. P. 59.04 motion to alter or amend the judgment and also a motion to allow the filing of Dr. Cross's amended affidavit and, in effect, for a reconsideration of Defendant's motion for summary judgment in light of this amended affidavit. The Trial Court denied Plaintiffs' motions. Plaintiffs appeal.

Discussion

Although not stated exactly as such, Plaintiffs raise two main issues on appeal: 1) whether the Trial Court erred in finding there is no genuine issue as to any material fact such that Defendant was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law; and 2) whether the Trial Court erred in denying Plaintiffs' motion to amend Dr. Cross's affidavit and Plaintiffs' motion to alter or amend the judgment. Defendant raises a third issue which we restate as: whether Dr. Cross's amended affidavit, even if considered, creates a genuine issue of material fact on the issue of standard of care and proximate cause.

As our Supreme Court has instructed:

The standards governing an appellate court's review of a motion for summary judgment are well settled. Since our inquiry involves purely a question of law, no presumption of correctness attaches to the lower court's judgment, and our task is confined to reviewing the record to determine whether the requirements of Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56 have been met. See Hunter v. Brown, 955 S.W.2d 49, 50-51 (Tenn.1997); Cowden v. Sovran Bank/Central South, 816 S.W.2d 741, 744 (Tenn.1991). Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 56.04 provides that summary judgment is appropriate where: (1) there is no genuine issue with regard to the material facts relevant to the claim or defense contained in the motion, see Byrd v. Hall, 847 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tenn.1993); and (2) the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law on the undisputed facts. See Anderson v. Standard Register Co., 857 S.W.2d 555, 559 (Tenn.1993). The moving party has the burden of proving that its motion satisfies these requirements. See Downen v. Allstate Ins. Co., 811 S.W.2d 523, 524 (Tenn.1991). When the party seeking summary judgment makes a properly supported motion, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to set forth specific facts establishing the existence of disputed, material facts which must be resolved by the trier of fact. See Byrd v. Hall, 847 S.W.2d at 215.

To properly support its motion, the moving party must either affirmatively negate an essential element of the non-moving party's claim or conclusively establish an affirmative defense. See McCarley v. West Quality Food Serv., 960 S.W.2d 585, 588 (Tenn.1998); Robinson v. Omer, 952 S.W.2d 423, 426 (Tenn.1997). If the moving party fails to negate a claimed basis for the suit, the non-moving party's burden to produce evidence establishing the existence of a genuine issue for trial is not triggered and the motion for summary judgment must fail. See McCarley v. West Quality Food Serv., 960 S.W.2d at 588; Robinson v. Omer, 952 S.W.2d at 426. If the moving party successfully negates a claimed basis for the action, the non-moving party may not simply rest upon the pleadings, but must offer proof to establish the existence of the essential elements of the claim.

The standards governing the assessment of evidence in the summary judgment context are also well established. Courts must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and must also draw all reasonable inferences in the nonmoving party's favor. See Robinson v. Omer, 952 S.W.2d at 426; Byrd v. Hall, 847 S.W.2d at 210-11. Courts should grant a summary judgment only when both the facts and the inferences to be drawn from the facts permit a reasonable person to reach only one conclusion. See McCall v. Wilder, 913 S.W.2d 150, 153 (Tenn.1995); Carvell v. Bottoms, 900 S.W.2d 23, 26 (Tenn.1995).

Staples v. CBL & Assocs., Inc., 15 S.W.3d 83, 88-89 (Tenn.2000) (footnote omitted).

In a medical malpractice action, a plaintiff has the burden of proving:

(1) The recognized standard of acceptable professional practice in the profession and the speciality thereof, if any, that the defendant practices in the community in which the defendant practices or in a similar community at the time the alleged injury or wrongful action occurred;

(2) That the defendant acted with less than or failed to act with ordinary and reasonable care in accordance with such standard; and

(3) As a proximate result of the defendant's negligent act or omission, the plaintiff suffered injuries which would not otherwise have occurred.

Tenn.Code Ann. § 29-26-115(a) (2003). "In a malpractice case, . . . the negligence of the defendant physician usually must be proved by expert testimony." Bowman v. Henard, 547 S.W.2d 527, 530 (Tenn.1977) (emphasis in original) (citation omitted). Affidavits "must rest upon [the affiant's] personal knowledge in an area in which he is competent to testify." Id. at 531.

Defendant submitted an expert affidavit signed by Defendant himself that negated an essential element of Plaintiffs' claim. Specifically, Defendant opined both that he was familiar with the acceptable standard of care and that he did not act with less than or fail to act with ordinary and reasonable care in accordance with the applicable standard of care. Since Defendant negated an essential element of Plaintiffs' claim, Plaintiffs were required to offer proof to establish the existence of the element negated by Defendant and could not simply rest on the pleadings. See Staples v. CBL & Assocs., Inc., 15 S.W.3d at 89.

In opposition to Defendant's motion for summary judgment, Plaintiffs filed Dr. Cross's affidavit, an affidavit signed by Ms. Chambliss, and one signed by Mr. Chambliss. Neither Ms. Chambliss, nor her husband, are physicians. Thus, the affidavits of Ms. Chambliss and her husband are insufficient to establish the existence of the essential elements of Plaintiffs' claim. We agree with the Trial Court that Dr. Cross's affidavit fails to establish proximate cause one of the essential elements of Plaintiffs' claim. While Dr. Cross does state his opinion in his affidavit that Defendant departed from and fell below the acceptable standard of medical care in his treatment of Ms. Chambliss, Dr. Cross never states in his affidavit that any claimed departure by Defendant from the acceptable standard of medical care was the proximate cause of Ms. Chambliss's injuries. Since Defendants successfully negated the essential element of proximate cause, Plaintiffs' claims fail. Defendant was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. We therefore, affirm the Trial Court's grant of summary judgment to Defendant.

However, this does not end our review as we next must consider whether the Trial Court erred in denying Plaintiffs' motion to allow the filing of and consideration by the Trial Court of Dr. Cross's amended affidavit and Plaintiffs' Rule 59.04 motion to alter or amend the judgment. We review a trial court's denial of a Tenn. R. Civ. P. 59.04 motion to alter or amend a judgment for abuse of discretion. E.g., Bradley v. McLeod, 984 S.W.2d 929, 933 (Tenn.Ct.App.1998...