Martinez v. Lewis
| Citation | 1998 WL 858153,969 P.2d 213 |
| Decision Date | 14 December 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97SC81,97SC81 |
| Parties | 98 CJ C.A.R. 6097 Yolanda MARTINEZ, Petitioner, v. Jeanne C. LEWIS, as personal representative of the estate of Frederick A. Lewis, Jr., M.D., individually and d/b/a Frederick A. Lewis, M.D., P.C., Respondent. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Colorado |
The Law Office of Danny R. Hemphill, Danny R. Hemphill, Boulder, Colorado, Law Offices of Thomas D. Roberts, Thomas D. Roberts, Asheville, North Carolina, Attorneys for Petitioner.
Kennedy & Christopher, P.C., Frank R. Kennedy, Ronald H. Nemirow, Denver, Colorado, Attorneys for Respondent.
Montgomery Little & McGrew, P.C., Patrick T. O'Rourke, David A. Burlage, Englewood, Colorado, Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Colorado Medical Society.
Campbell Latiolais & Ruebel, P.C., Colin C. Campbell, Denver, Colorado, Attorneys
for Amicus Curiae Colorado Defense Lawyers Association.
Davis Graham & Stubbs, LLP, Andrew M. Low, Brett C. Painter, Denver, Colorado, Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Physician Insurers Association of America
Richard W. Laugesen, Denver, Colorado, Attorney for Amicus Curiae Richard W. Laugesen.
We granted certiorari to consider whether the court of appeals erred in Martinez v. Lewis, 942 P.2d 1219 (Colo.App.1995), when it affirmed an order by the Denver District Court (trial court) granting summary judgment against the petitioner, Yolanda Martinez (Martinez), and in favor of Frederick Lewis, Jr., M.D. (Dr. Lewis). 1
Dr. Lewis conducted an independent medical evaluation (IME) of Martinez at the request of Martinez's insurer, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm). The purpose of the IME was to evaluate the existence and extent of Martinez's claimed neurological injuries allegedly sustained when the car she was driving was rear-ended by an uninsured motorist. In a report to State Farm, Dr. Lewis concluded that Martinez was "malingering." State Farm subsequently denied Martinez coverage for future psychiatric or psychological care under her no-fault automobile insurance policy.
After State Farm denied coverage, Martinez brought suit against State Farm for violations of the Colorado Auto Accident Reparations Act, see §§ 10-4-701 to -725, 4A C.R.S. (1986 & 1992 Supp.), breach of contract, and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. Approximately one year later, Martinez amended her complaint to include claims against Dr. Lewis for professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of section 6-1-105, 2 C.R.S. (1992 & 1994 Supp.), of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). Only the claims against Dr. Lewis are at issue here.
In affirming the trial court's summary judgment order, the court of appeals held that Dr. Lewis did not owe a duty of care to Martinez. See Martinez, 942 P.2d at 1221-24. Consequently, according to the court of appeals, Dr. Lewis was not liable to Martinez for his IME reports notwithstanding Martinez's assertions that the reports led to State Farm's erroneous denial of benefits. The court of appeals also held that Martinez was not entitled to relief under the CCPA. See id. at 1224-26.
We now affirm the judgment of the court of appeals. We hold that, under the facts of this case, Dr. Lewis did not owe a duty to Martinez. Additionally, we hold that Martinez could not seek damages under the CCPA for the alleged misrepresentations Dr. Lewis made to State Farm.
The material facts relevant to Dr. Lewis's summary judgment motion are not in dispute. On September 3, 1991, Martinez was in an automobile collision in Pueblo, Colorado. Following the accident, Martinez received medical care for cognitive deficits she claimed resulted from a closed-head injury she sustained in the accident. Martinez made a claim for benefits with State Farm for the therapy she received. State Farm subsequently requested that Dr. Lewis perform an IME for purposes of evaluating the existence and extent of Martinez's claimed neurological injuries.
After meeting with Martinez on March 3, 1992, Dr. Lewis submitted to State Farm a completed report summarizing his evaluation of her condition. In his report, Dr. Lewis provided a synopsis of his examination of Martinez, information he obtained from Martinez, and the results of a battery of computerized psychometric tests. Dr. Lewis also described his review of the progress notes of other health care professionals who treated Martinez. Based on the foregoing, Dr. Lewis concluded in his report that "my impression is that the patient is malingering." After Dr. Lewis submitted his report, State Farm discontinued payment for any future psychiatric and psychological treatment.
Martinez then sued State Farm on September 24, 1993. In her complaint, Martinez alleged that State Farm willfully and wantonly failed to pay policy benefits within the time limits provided in section 10-4-708, 4A C.R.S. (1986 & 1992 Supp.), of the Colorado Auto Accident Reparations Act. Martinez also made a breach of contract claim and a claim for a breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.
At State Farm's request, Dr. Lewis performed a reevaluation of Martinez on March 14, 1994. In his reevaluation report, Dr. Lewis summarized his review of Martinez's medical records, the traffic accident report, Martinez's patient history, and the results from another battery of psychometric tests. In the conclusion of the report, Dr. Lewis stated, "My impression remains that the patient is malingering."
On September 23, 1994, Dr. Lewis submitted a supplemental report to State Farm concerning his prior evaluations. In the supplemental report, Dr. Lewis summarized information he received from State Farm's attorney concerning a psychological report made by one of Martinez's expert witnesses, who was also the clinical psychologist treating Martinez. After reviewing the clinical psychologist's report, Dr. Lewis concluded that "my overall impression continues to be that the patient is Malingering [sic] in the sense that she is not telling the truth."
On October 17, 1994, Martinez filed an amended complaint in which she added Dr. Lewis as a defendant. 2 In her amended complaint, Martinez made claims against Dr. Lewis for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of the CCPA. Martinez alleged that Dr. Lewis negligently evaluated and examined Martinez and was negligent in using computerized neuropsychological testing. Martinez also alleged that Dr. Lewis concealed the fact that he was not qualified to select, administer, and interpret computerized neuropsychological tests. As a result of Dr. Lewis's alleged negligence, Martinez asserted that she did not receive necessary treatment from March 1992 "until her injuries were correctly diagnosed by [another physician] on September 27, 1993."
Dr. Lewis subsequently moved for summary judgment. In response to the negligence claim, Dr. Lewis argued that, as a physician conducting an IME for State Farm, he did not owe a duty to Martinez as a matter of law. Regarding the CCPA claim, Dr. Lewis argued that it was undisputed that he did not make any representations to Martinez regarding any of the services he performed for State Farm.
In an order dated June 2, 1995, the trial court granted Dr. Lewis's summary judgment motion. Applying this court's discussion in Greenberg v. Perkins, 845 P.2d 530, 536-38 (Colo.1993), of the multiple factors that a court should consider in determining whether a defendant owes a duty of care to a plaintiff, the trial court concluded that Dr. Lewis did not owe Martinez a duty. The trial court explained:
The absence of a physician-patient relationship, the fact that Dr. Lewis was not undertaking to treat Plaintiff and caused her no physical injury, and the need for physicians to be able to objectively assess insurance claims all support this conclusion, as does case law from other jurisdictions.
(Citations omitted.)
The trial court also ruled that Martinez failed to state a claim under the CCPA. As the trial court explained, Martinez stated in her deposition testimony that she did not recall Dr. Lewis making any representations to her concerning his background, qualifications, or services. Additionally, the trial court explained that Martinez did not rely on any alleged misrepresentations in seeing Dr. Lewis, as Dr. Lewis was the physician selected by State Farm to evaluate Martinez's claims for treatment.
On appeal, the court of appeals affirmed the trial court's ruling. See Martinez, 942 P.2d at 1221-26. The court of appeals held that Dr. Lewis did not owe Martinez a legally cognizable duty. See id. at 1224. In so holding, the court of appeals stated:
Here, plaintiff contends that her injury resulted from denied and delayed treatment. She stated in her deposition that she was not physically injured while undergoing examinations by Lewis. Under these circumstances, since no doctor-patient relationship existed between plaintiff and Lewis, since she does not assert injury during the course of the examination, and since she did not rely on Lewis for treatment, care, or advice, we hold that Lewis is not liable to plaintiff for professional negligence. The doctor's duty to use reasonable care in making and preparing the report runs to the party requesting it; here, that was State Farm, not plaintiff.
The court of appeals also held that Martinez was not within the class of persons whom the CCPA was intended to protect, and consequently, she did not have a viable claim against Dr. Lewis for violating the CCPA. See id. at 1226. As did the trial court, the court of appeals explained that Martinez had neither asserted that Dr. Lewis made misrepresentations to her, nor presented any evidence indicating that Dr. Lewis made any misrepresentations to the public. See id. Rather, the alleged misconduct occurred within the context of the contract between State Farm and Dr. Lewis. See id. Consequently, the CCPA was...
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