Trau-Med of America, Inc. v. Allstate Ins.
| Citation | 71 S.W.3d 691 |
| Decision Date | 25 March 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. W1999-01524-SC-R11-CV.,W1999-01524-SC-R11-CV. |
| Parties | TRAU-MED OF AMERICA, INC. d/b/a/ Bellevue Clinic v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Tennessee |
R. Layne Holley, Memphis, Tennessee, and William H. Frye, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellants, Allstate Insurance Company, Vickie Harris, Charles E. Ferrell, Leslie Johnson, and Ron Iden.
Ed M. Hurley, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, Trau-Med of America, Inc., d/b/a Bellevue Clinic.
WILLIAM M. BARKER, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which FRANK F. DROWOTA, III, C.J., and E. RILEY ANDERSON, ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., and JANICE M. HOLDER, JJ., joined.
The plaintiff, a medical clinic, filed an action against the defendants alleging, among other things, tortious interference with business relationships and civil conspiracy. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which the trial court granted. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's dismissal of these claims, finding that the facts alleged in the complaint were sufficient to state claims upon which relief could be granted. This case is now before us to determine whether the trial court should have granted the defendant's motion to dismiss. We hold that the complaint in this case alleges sufficient facts to state a cause of action for tortious interference with business relationships. However, we dismiss the plaintiff's claim of civil conspiracy for failure to satisfy the plurality requirement necessary to establish an actionable conspiracy claim. Consequently, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand this case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
This case comes before us pursuant to a Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02(6) motion to dismiss and requires us to review the trial court's dismissal of two claims: tortious interference with a business relationship and intracorporate civil conspiracy. In making our decision today, we review only the legal sufficiency of the plaintiff's cause of action, and we make no comment as to whether the allegations may be supported by proof as there is no evidence before us at this stage. For purposes of this appeal, we take as true the following allegations of fact drawn from the complaint.
As alleged in the complaint, Trau-Med of America, Inc. [hereinafter "Trau-Med"], a Tennessee corporation located in Memphis, is one of several physician practice management companies operating in Shelby County. The primary purpose of these companies is to make medical care more accessible to the public, especially to uninsured and indigent personal injury victims. As one source of business, Trau-Med accepts referrals from attorneys representing uninsured personal injury victims who are otherwise unable to afford medical care. In turn, Trau-Med contracts to provide administrative services to licensed medical doctors who treat such "indigent victims of trauma with meritorious claims for personal injury." Trau-Med is then compensated for its services after the victims either settle their claims or receive the proceeds of a judgment following litigation.
On November 10, 1998, Trau-Med filed suit collectively against Allstate Insurance Company [hereinafter "Allstate"], its employees, and its agents. In its complaint, Trau-Med alleges that Allstate purposefully attacked the plaintiff's lawful business by making libelous statements and by creating defamatory documents for the purpose of ruining its reputation in the legal community. Specifically, the complaint avers that Allstate, "wishing to control the activity of claimants with legitimate personal injuries and without the intervention of licensed attorneys, devised a scheme with its agents/employees ... to limit access to health care for injured persons in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, and thus control and limit their claims expenses."
Trau-Med also alleges that Allstate directed the attorneys hired to defend its policyholders to file defamatory motions accusing Trau-Med of the following unlawful conduct: practicing medicine in violation of Tennessee law, administering physical therapy services in violation of Tennessee law, and employing unlicensed physical therapists. The complaint further avers that Allstate conspired with its agents and employees to destroy Trau-Med, as well as other similar clinics and medical organizations, and in fact circulated among its employees a "hit list" of these targeted clinics. Allstate's agents allegedly relied on this list to inform plaintiffs' attorneys that they would "get" Trau-Med and that Trau-Med is "next" on the list of targets. Moreover, Allstate's agents are alleged to have implied that all claimants who do receive medical treatment from Trau-Med can expect to be "embroiled in unnecessary and expensive litigation."
Finally, Trau-Med avers that Allstate's actions have received "wide publication in the legal profession especially with attorneys who represent injured claimants, [and have] taken a form of intimidation by raising concern with attorneys about the propriety of [Trau-Med's] business." Further, Allstate's false and defamatory allegations have "brought about great economic loss, [have] frightened and demoralized its employees and independent contractor physicians and caused irreparable damage to [Trau-Med's] reputation and prospective economic advantage in the community."
Based on these allegations, Trau-Med's complaint sets forth seven separate counts for recovery: (I) tortious interference with a business relationship accompanied by a malicious and intentional motive to destroy and/or damage Trau Med's business and to cause it to suffer financial loss; (II) intentional interference with prospective economic advantage; (III) abuse of civil process; (IV) willful, intentional, deliberate, and purposeful conduct causing damage to Trau-Med's reputation and causing it to lose business; (V) conspiracy for the purpose of destroying Trau-Med's reputation and business; (VI) violation of the Federal Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), (d) (2000); and (VII) violation of Tennessee Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-12-204(c), (d) (1997).
Allstate filed a motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 12.02(6), stating that Trau-Med failed to allege sufficient facts stating a cause of action upon which relief could be granted. The trial court thereafter entered an order dismissing counts I, IV, V, and VI. By the same order, counts II and VII were dismissed upon Trau-Med's oral notice of voluntary dismissal pursuant to Civil Procedure Rule 41.01. Later, the trial court also dismissed count III, thereby dismissing all counts of Trau-Med's complaint.
Trau-Med appealed the dismissal of count I, tortious interference with a business relationship, count III, abuse of civil process, and count V, conspiracy. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's dismissal of count III. However, it reversed the trial court's order dismissing counts I and V, finding that the complaint stated claims of tortious interference with a business relationship and conspiracy. In its appeal to this Court, Allstate challenges the intermediate court's reversal of counts I and V. After a careful review of the relevant authorities, we hold that the complaint in this case alleges sufficient facts to state a cause of action for tortious interference with a business relationship. However, we find that Trau-Med has not stated a claim for civil conspiracy. Accordingly, for the reasons given herein, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and we remand the case to the Shelby County Circuit Court for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.
A Rule 12.02(6) motion to dismiss only seeks to determine whether the pleadings state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Such a motion challenges the legal sufficiency of the complaint, not the strength of the plaintiff's proof, and, therefore, matters outside the pleadings should not be considered in deciding whether to grant the motion. See Bell ex rel. Snyder v. Icard, Merrill, Cullis, Timm, Furen & Ginsburg, P.A., 986 S.W.2d 550, 554 (Tenn.1999). In reviewing a motion to dismiss, the appellate court must construe the complaint liberally, presuming all factual allegations to be true and giving the plaintiff the benefit of all reasonable inferences. See Pursell v. First Am. Nat'l Bank, 937 S.W.2d 838, 840 (Tenn.1996). It is well-settled that a complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his or her claim that would warrant relief. See Doe v. Sundquist, 2 S.W.3d 919, 922 (Tenn.1999); Fuerst v. Methodist Hosp. S., 566 S.W.2d 847, 848 (Tenn.1978). Great specificity in the pleadings is ordinarily not required to survive a motion to dismiss; it is enough that the complaint set forth "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." White v. Revco Disc. Drug Ctrs., Inc., 33 S.W.3d 713, 718 (Tenn.2000) (citing Tenn. R. Civ. P. 8.01). We review the trial court's legal conclusions de novo without giving any presumption of correctness to those conclusions. Id.
The preliminary issue in this case is whether an insurance company can be held vicariously liable for the actions of counsel hired by the company to represent the insured. Pursuant to traditional liability insurance contracts, the insurance company typically obligates itself to hire counsel to defend lawsuits against the insured, to pay the costs of defense, and to indemnify the insured for judgments and settlements within the policy's limits. See Charles Silver & Kent Syverud, ...
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