Marques v. HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTHCARE
| Citation | 883 A.2d 742 |
| Decision Date | 01 September 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 2002-103-Appeal.,2002-103-Appeal. |
| Parties | A. Michael MARQUES, in his capacity as the Director of the Department of Business Regulation v. HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTHCARE OF NEW ENGLAND, INC. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
Thomas P. Seymour, pro se.
Brian J. Spero, Esq., Providence, for Defendant.
Present: WILLIAMS, C.J., GOLDBERG, FLAHERTY, SUTTELL, and ROBINSON, JJ.
Thomas P. Seymour, appearing pro se, appeals from the denial of his motion for summary judgment and from the grant of summary judgment in favor of the appellee, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare of New England, Inc. (HPHC-NE).2 Relying upon Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990(ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.,3 Mr. Seymour contends that he was discriminated against on the basis of his disabilities when he was denied health insurance from HPHC-NE.4
On August 16, 1995, Mr. Seymour requested that HPHC-NE send him an application form for health-care coverage,5 and HPHC-NE duly mailed an application form to him.
On August 21, 1995, HPHC-NE received an application from Mr. Seymour, but its underwriting department determined that the application was incomplete because of the applicant's failure to provide certain information which it considered necessary. HPHC-NE returned the partially completed application to Mr. Seymour on the following day. In an accompanying letter, HPHC-NE explained its reasons for returning the application and informed Mr. Seymour that he was required to provide the additional information before it could consider his application for health-care coverage.
Over a month later, on September 30, 1995, HPHC-NE notified Mr. Seymour in writing that it had not yet received the previously requested obligatory information; and it informed him that, unless it received a completed application within two weeks, his partially-completed application would be voided and he would have to reapply for coverage. Mr. Seymour failed to respond within the specified two-week period. Accordingly, on October 15, 1995, HPHC-NE voided Mr. Seymour's partially-completed application.
In early December 1995, Mr. Seymour received a document entitled "Ten-Day Notice" from the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS). The text of that notice informed Mr. Seymour that, after December 26, 1995, he would no longer be eligible to receive Medical Assistance (Medicaid) benefits due to his "[f]ailure to cooperate." The notice specified that Mr. Seymour had failed to provide the agency with documentation about a change in his financial situation.6 The notice from DHS also informed Mr. Seymour that he had the right to request and receive a hearing. The ten-day notice document further informed him that, should he request a hearing within ten days, his Medicaid benefits would continue uninterrupted pending the outcome of the hearing. Mr. Seymour did not request a hearing. Accordingly, his Medicaid benefits were terminated on December 26, 1995.
Several weeks later, on February 12, 1996, Mr. Seymour contacted HPHC-NE to inquire about the status of his August 21, 1995 application for health-care coverage. HPHC-NE advised him that his application had been voided because he had failed to provide in a timely manner the additional information that was necessary for the application to be complete. It further advised Mr. Seymour that, should he still be interested in obtaining heath-care coverage from HPHC-NE, he would have to recommence the process by submitting a completed application.
On February 20, 1996, Mr. Seymour submitted a completed application to HPHC-NE. After reviewing the submitted materials, the underwriters at HPHC-NE concluded that Mr. Seymour presented an unacceptably high risk of loss due to the fact that he suffers from Arthrogryposis and Crohn's Disease.7 As a result, on February 27, 1996, HPHC-NE denied Mr. Seymour's application for health-care coverage because it had concluded that he did not meet its eligibility guidelines.
Mr. Seymour then filed a complaint with the Department of Business Regulation (DBR). The latter agency contacted HPHC-NE, and there was an exchange of correspondence between the two entities.8
On or about February 14, 1997, Mr. Seymour filed a charge of discrimination with the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights (RICHR), asserting that HPHC-NE had discriminated against him because of his disability.9
Before the RICHR had taken any significant action with respect to this charge of discrimination, the director of the Department of Business Regulation (DBR) filed a petition for rehabilitation with respect to HPHC-NE on October 25, 1999, pursuant to G.L.1956 chapter 14.3 of title 27 (the "Insurers' Rehabilitation and Liquidation Act"). The petition for rehabilitation alleged that HPHC-NE was in an unsound financial condition, and it requested that the director of the DBR be appointed as the rehabilitator of HPHC-NE. An order to that effect was issued on the same day. On January 10, 2000, the director filed a petition for an order of liquidation. The order was duly granted, and the director was appointed as the liquidator.
On May 19, 2000, a justice of the Superior Court enjoined any further action with respect to the charge of discrimination which Mr. Seymour had filed with the RICHR and which was then pending before that agency. Thereafter, Mr. Seymour filed a proof of claim with the liquidator. The proof of claim was denied on September 27, 2000. On November 1, 2000, Mr. Seymour, acting pursuant to § 27-14.3-43, filed in the Superior Court a petition to appeal the denial of his claim. In his petition, Mr. Seymour alleged that his civil rights and his state constitutional rights had been violated. He sought equitable relief as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
On May 9, 2001, Mr. Seymour filed a motion for summary judgment. The liquidator objected to the motion and filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. A justice of the Superior Court heard both motions on August 7, 2001; and, in a subsequent written decision, he denied Mr. Seymour's motion for summary judgment and granted the liquidator's cross-motion for summary judgment.10 Final judgment was entered in favor of the liquidator pursuant to Rule 54(b) of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure.11 Mr. Seymour then filed a combined motion to amend the final judgment, to dismiss without prejudice and to grant a new trial. That combined motion was denied, and Mr. Seymour has timely appealed the final judgment to this Court.
It is a basic principle that "[t]his Court reviews the granting of a motion for summary judgment on a de novo basis." D'Allesandro v. Tarro, 842 A.2d 1063, 1065 (R.I.2004); see also DiBattista v. State, 808 A.2d 1081, 1085 (R.I.2002)
. We will affirm a summary judgment "if, after reviewing the admissible evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, we conclude that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Rotelli v. Catanzaro, 686 A.2d 91, 93 (R.I.1996).
In this case, where both parties filed a motion for summary judgment, we will treat the relevant allegations of each party in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, as each opposed the corresponding motion for summary judgment. Pontbriand v. Sundlun, 699 A.2d 856, 859 (R.I.1997).
We have made it clear that "a litigant opposing a motion for summary judgment has the burden of proving by competent evidence the existence of a disputed issue of material fact * * *." Santucci v. Citizens Bank of Rhode Island, 799 A.2d 254, 257 (R.I.2002); see also Rotelli, 686 A.2d at 93
. As we discuss below, it is our opinion that Mr. Seymour has met that burden in opposing HPHC-NE's motion for summary judgment as it was framed at the time of the hearing in the court below. Certain genuine issues of material fact remain in dispute or at least do not appear with sufficient clarity in the record. Therefore, we are remanding this case to the Superior Court for further proceedings.
HPHC-NE contends before this Court, as it did below, that, in view of the express provisions of G.L.1956 § 27-41-42 (since repealed), HPHC-NE was legally entitled to deny Mr. Seymour's application for health-care coverage because the applicant did not have continuous health-insurance coverage for the twelve months that immediately preceded his application.12 While we do not quarrel with the accuracy of HPHC-NE's reading of the Rhode Island statute, it is our opinion that, at least with respect to the factual situation that this case presently involves, the state statute was superseded by the provisions of Title III of the ADA.
At the pertinent time, the language of § 27-41-42, by obvious negative implication, permitted a health insurance provider to deny the issuance of a policy to applicants with a pre-existing condition who had not had continuous health-insurance coverage for the previous twelve-month period. It is clear to us, however, that Title III of the ADA mandates that both disabled and non-disabled persons should be provided with equal access to health insurance. It is also clear to us that § 27-41-42 restricts access to health insurance (by its twelve-month continuous coverage requirement) in a manner that adversely impacts those with pre-existing disabling conditions without impacting in a similar way those without such conditions.13 In view of the fact that Mr. Seymour's application for health-care coverage was completely denied, we will address in this opinion only the legitimacy of that complete denial of access to insurance. It will not be necessary for us to address at this time the issue of whether the provisions of Title III of the ADA extend beyond guaranteeing the right of access to the provider of insurance coverage to actually regulating (in whole or in part) the contents of the insurance policies themselves.
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...usual practice, we will be influenced by federal interpretations of a federal statute. See, e.g., Marques v. Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare of New England, Inc., 883 A.2d 742, 749 (R.I.2005) (interpreting Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in accordance with federal preced......