S. N.H. Med. Ctr. v. Hayes

• Decision Date: 11 February 2010
• Docket Number: No. 2008–844.,2008–844.
• Citation: 159 N.H. 711,992 A.2d 596
• Court: New Hampshire Supreme Court
• Parties: SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE MEDICAL CENTER v. Anthony HAYES.

159 N.H. 711

992 A.2d 596

SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE MEDICAL CENTER

v.Anthony HAYES.

No. 2008–844.

Supreme Court of New Hampshire.

Argued: Oct. 8, 2009.

Opinion Issued: Feb. 11, 2010.

Welts, White & Fontaine, P.C., of Nashua (Michael J. Fontaine and Lisa A. Biron on the brief, and Mr. Fontaine orally), for the plaintiff.

Smith–Weiss, Shepard & Durmer, P.C., of Nashua (Robert M. Shepard and Melissa S. Penson on the brief, and Ms. Penson orally), for the defendant.

DUGGAN, J.

The defendant, Anthony Hayes, appeals: (1) an order of the Superior Court (Brennan, J.) granting summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff, Southern New Hampshire Medical Center (SNHMC), with respect to Karen Hayes' unpaid medical expenses; (2) an order of the Superior Court (Nicolosi, J.) granting SNHMC's motion in limine to exclude evidence that Karen Hayes "eloped" under the doctrine of necessaries; and (3) a ruling on the merits (Smukler, J.) finding Anthony Hayes liable under the doctrine of necessaries for Karen Hayes' medical bills. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

The record supports the following facts. Anthony and Karen Hayes married in 1977. In July, August, October and November 2006, Karen, who did not have health insurance, received emergency medical treatment at SNHMC for complications stemming from alcoholism, leaving a balance due of $85,238.88. The record contains conflicting evidence about the status of Karen and Anthony's marriage during this time. While Karen's medical records indicate that she was living with Anthony, Anthony disputes this, asserting that he and Karen "did not live as husband and wife for the past seven to eight years ... when [the medical bills] were ... incurred." For example, Anthony testified that sometimes Karen was admitted to SNHMC after being "taken out of hotels, motels, and other people's houses."

SNHMC filed suit against the Hayeses, and successfully sought a real estate attachment on two unencumbered parcels owned jointly by the Hayeses. When SNHMC placed an attachment on the properties, Karen and Anthony were still married. The Hayeses were divorced in January 2007 pursuant to a stipulated agreement. Under the terms of the divorce, each party was responsible for his or her own medical expenses not covered by insurance. Specifically, "Karen [was] responsible for paying the debt to [SNHMC] as well as any other medical debts or bills." Karen received one automobile valued at $1,200, her bank account with a balance of $0.00, and all of her debts. Anthony received the marital properties subject to SNHMC's attachment.

Prior to trial, SNHMC moved in limine to prohibit Anthony "from introducing at trial any information, documentation or witnesses concerning or in any way referencing an alleged common law doctrine of elopement." SNHMC argued that elopement is an affirmative defense, and that Anthony failed to give adequate notice, pursuant to Superior Court Rule 28, that he intended to rely upon this doctrine. Anthony objected, contending that he gave adequate notice.

The trial court granted SNHMC's motion. It ruled that elopement is an affirmative defense, but that Anthony failed to properly raise it. The court found that it would be unfair to require SNHMC to counter this defense, given that "the legal fact of marriage was not in dispute."

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of SNHMC against Karen, finding "no issue of material fact" that she was liable for the balance owed to SNHMC. The trial court, however, denied SNHMC's motion for summary judgment against Anthony, finding that genuine issues of material fact remained with respect to his liability for Karen's medical expenses. Following a bench trial on the merits, the trial court found that Anthony was liable, under the doctrine of necessaries, for Karen's medical debts to SNHMC. During the pendency of these proceedings, Karen passed away.

On appeal, Anthony argues that: (1) elopement is not an affirmative defense; (2) even if it is, he provided sufficient notice; (3) pursuant to Cheshire Medical Center v. Holbrook, 140 N.H. 187, 190, 663 A.2d 1344 (1995), SNHMC was required to find that Karen had inadequate funds before seeking reimbursement from Anthony; (4) Karen had sufficient resources to satisfy her debt because Karen jointly owned the two pieces of property attached by SNHMC; and (5) the trial court erred when it granted summary judgment against Karen. SNHMC counters that: (1) elopement is an affirmative defense; (2) Anthony's interrogatory responses and pleadings did not provide adequate notice; (3) even if the trial court erred by treating elopement as an affirmative defense, that error was harmless because Anthony could not factually support an elopement defense; (4) SNHMC was required only to first seek payment from Karen before pursuing Anthony, which it did; (5) Karen lacked sufficient resources to satisfy her debt to SNHMC; (6) the trial court correctly granted summary judgment against Karen and found Anthony liable under the necessaries doctrine; and (7) Anthony lacks standing to contest the trial court's summary judgment ruling against Karen.

I. Summary Judgment: Karen Hayes

We first address, as a preliminary matter, SNHMC's argument that Anthony lacks standing to appeal the summary judgment against Karen. Specifically, SNHMC contends that only Karen's estate would have standing to appeal and "as of this time, no estate has been opened," and that "Mr. Hayes has suffered no legal injury that an appeal to this Court will protect and he may not seek relief for the benefit of another." Although Anthony did not address these contentions in his brief, at oral argument he argued that he has standing to challenge the judgment against Karen because, under the necessaries doctrine, he is potentially liable for her debt. We assume for the purposes of this appeal that Anthony has standing to attack the judgment against Karen.

Anthony argues that the trial court erroneously granted summary judgment against Karen. He contends that whether he and Karen were married for the purposes of liability under the necessaries doctrine, and whether SNHMC's charges and the medical services provided to Karen were reasonably necessary, were material, disputed issues of fact. He argues that the trial court erroneously granted summary judgment against Karen because the evidence was insufficient for such a ruling. Anthony also maintains that the affidavit supporting SNHMC's motion for summary judgment was incompetent because the affiant was not a medical practitioner and lacked personal knowledge of the services provided and whether they were medically necessary. SNHMC counters that the applicability of the necessaries doctrine is irrelevant to the validity of the judgment against Karen, Karen's objection did not comply with RSA 491:8–a (1997), and Anthony failed to present any facts supporting his contention that SNHMC's charges and services were unreasonable. SNHMC also argues that Anthony failed to preserve his arguments that its charges were not reasonable because of its billing practices and that its affidavit was incompetent because he first raised those arguments in a motion to reconsider.

"When reviewing a trial court's grant of summary judgment, we consider the affidavits and other evidence, and inferences properly drawn from them, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party." Everitt v. Gen. Elec. Co., 159 N.H. 232, 234, 979 A.2d 760 (2009). "If this review does not reveal any genuine issues of material fact, i.e., facts that would affect the outcome of the litigation, and if the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, we will affirm." Smith v. HCA Health Services of N.H., 159 N.H. 158, 160, 977 A.2d 534 (2009). "We review the trial court's application of the law to the facts de novo. " Everitt, 159 N.H. at 234, 979 A.2d 760.

In its motion for summary judgment against Karen, SNHMC contended that it provided medical care to her and that, as a result, she owed SNHMC for the services provided. In support of its motion, SNHMC attached an affidavit from its Credit and Collection Manager who stated that she was "familiar with the books and records of [SNHMC]" and had "personal knowledge of the matters stated herein."

In her objection, Karen denied "that medical and health care services and/or supplies were properly administered to [her] or that they were reasonable or necessary." She also asserted:

In determining whether or not the charges rendered by [SNHMC] in this case are reasonable, the court needs to consider other issues, such as the fact that [SNHMC] is allegedly a non-profit organization and needs to consider billing rates or cash payments as opposed to insurance payments or [Medicaid] payments."

Karen neither referred to anything in the record nor filed an affidavit contradicting SNHMC's motion.

We agree that whether the Hayeses were married for the purposes of liability under the necessaries doctrine was irrelevant to the trial court's grant of summary judgment against Karen. Moreover, Karen failed to allege that there were any disputed issues of material fact, or that SNHMC was not entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The party opposing a motion for summary judgment cannot "rest upon mere allegations or denials of [the] pleadings, but [her] response, by affidavits or by reference to depositions, answers to interrogatories, or admissions, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." RSA 491:8–a, IV. Karen failed to refer to any facts in the record, or to present the trial court with an affidavit, supporting her allegations that the hospital's charges were not reasonable.

In her motion to reconsider, Karen raised a new challenge to the affidavit supporting SNHMC's motion for summary judgment:

[SNHMC] submitted an Affidavit in support of its Motion For Summary Judgment, along with a copy of an invoice for services that were rendered to the Defendant.

The Affidavit was

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