Wright v. Mills

Decision Date02 August 1991
Citation590 So.2d 177
PartiesBarbara WRIGHT and Charles Wright v. Dr. Major C. MILLS. 1900824.
CourtAlabama Supreme Court

Richard H. Ramsey IV, Dothan, for appellants.

Charles A. Stakely of Rushton, Stakely, Johnston & Garrett, Montgomery, for appellee.

HORNSBY, Chief Justice.

This is a dental malpractice suit. Barbara and Charles Wright sued Dr. Major C Mills, alleging that he had been negligent in treating Mrs. Wright. Dr. Mills filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. The Wrights appeal.

Dr. Mills began seeing Mrs. Wright as a patient in January 1965, and he continued to see her as a patient until October 6, 1987. She developed chronic gum disease during the 1970s, which Dr. Mills treated. 1 Dr. Mills attributed the chronic gum disease to poor dental care at home.

After Dr. Mills's last treatment of Mrs. Wright, the Wrights began to study various dental literature. In March 1989 the Wrights contacted an attorney to discuss legal action against Dr. Mills.

In June 1989, the Wrights also contacted the Alabama Dental Association to lodge a complaint against Dr. Mills. On June 26, 1989, the Alabama Dental Association mailed the Wrights various complaint forms, and on July 10, 1989, the Wrights completed, signed, and returned these forms. In the forms submitted, the Wrights indicated that their complaint against Dr. Mills was based upon "improper treatment for gingivitis, which later developed into periodontitis," and that "the periodontal disease wasn't treated professionally, resulting in loss of many teeth." In the mediation request form submitted by the Wrights they stated:

"I visited Dr. Mills for over 20 yrs--approx[imately] 1978, Dr. Mills said I had periodontal disease. Over the next few years I was fitted with and lost (by Dr. Mills) three fixed bridges, one partial bridge, four crowns, plus several teeth [were] extracted.

"Dr. Mills performed oral surgery many, many times. Never any flap surgery, or suthred [sic], etc. The last surgery was without an assistant, only Dr. Mills and myself, the surgery was the most drastic! (Stayed w[ith] my mother-in-law for a week.)

"....

"What action would you like the local peer review committee to take?

"Action that would be fair. I have spent lots of money w[ith] Dr. Mills and have very few teeth! Last six months spent over $1600.00 with dentist and periodontist. I have suffered extreme pain and blood loss with his surgeries without one good result."

The Alabama Dental Association forwarded a copy of the complaint to Dr. Mills, but he never responded. However, Mr. Wright indicated that a member of the peer review board stated that the peer review board could do nothing because Dr. Mills had retired. Mr. Wright stated that the board member intimated that the only action available would be a legal claim against Dr. Mills.

In November 1989, Mrs. Wright visited Dr. John Miller, a periodontist, whereupon she says she discovered that Dr. Mills had acted negligently in treating her. Thereafter, the Wrights filed their claim against Dr. Mills on February 28, 1990.

Dr. Mills moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. In its order the trial court stated:

"This cause coming on to be heard is submitted for a ruling on the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by the Defendant, the pleadings and affidavits and depositions on file and the Court having considered the same, the Court finds as follows:

"Dr. Mills last treated the plaintiff on October 6, 1987. Any act or omission or failure giving rise to a claim accrued on or before October 6, 1987. Under the two year Statute of Limitations, suit should have been filed prior to October 6, 1989.

"In January of 1989, the plaintiff had been treated by [a] periodontist in Dothan and had acquired and read literature concerning periodontal disease. In March of 1989, the plaintiff discussed this problem with a lawyer and in June of 1989 the plaintiff filed a complaint with the Alabama Dental Association alleging improper and unprofessional dental treatment by Dr. Mills on the plaintiff.

"There is no question that sometime between January of 1989 and July of 1989, a cause of action was discovered or could have reasonably been discovered.

"Suit was filed on February 28, 1990. Suit was filed more than six months from the date of discovery of the cause of action or from the date of discovery of facts which would reasonably lead to such discovery.

"Therefore, the Court finds that this claim is barred by the Statute of Limitations as provided for in the Alabama Medical Liability Act, Section 6-5-482, Code of Alabama, 1975.

"THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:

"1. Motion for Summary Judgment filed by the defendant is granted.

"2. Judgment for Dr. Major C. Mills against the plaintiffs, Barbara Wright and Charles Wright and the claim against the defendant is hereby dismissed with prejudice."

(Emphasis added.)

In her affidavit opposing Dr. Mills's motion for summary judgment, Mrs. Wright stated in part:

"After last seeing Dr. Mills during January of 1988 [the record, however, indicates that she last saw Dr. Mills in October 1987] I went for over a year without seeing any other dentist....

"While I was gravely concerned about the condition of my teeth and mouth and while I made some attempts to ascertain exactly what my problem was as well as its cause, I never discovered that Dr. Mills had committed malpractice on me until I was told so by my present periodontist Dr. John Miller. In fact, I had attempted to seek an explanation from Dr. Mills by contacting the Alabama Dental Association in June of 1989. I was doing this in an attempt to find out what my problem was and what could be done about it. Although I suspected that Dr. Mills's treatment of me was 'questionable,' I simply did not know what my problem was. The Dental Association afforded me absolutely no relief however, because Dr. Mills refused to even respond to their request that he appear to answer my complaint. The Dental Association told me that there was nothing that could be done since Dr. Mills refused to cooperate....

"Although I felt that there must have been something that could have been done to improve the condition of my mouth and health in general, I never discovered that Dr. Mills had actually been negligent in his treatment of me until told this by Dr. Miller the first time I saw him in November 1989. Prior to that time, I had received no answers from either Dr. Mills or the Dental Association explaining why my mouth was in such a terrible condition or what had caused the condition. Before November of 1989 I was unaware of the fact that the cause of my problem was Dr. Mills's negligent treatment of me. As I am not familiar with dental procedures, I had no way of knowing that Dr. Mills did not exercise the degree of care, skill, and diligence on me that general dentists ordinarily would have exercised. In fact my attempts to ascertain exactly what Dr. Mills had done were always unsuccessful. This was so, in a large part, due to Dr. Mills's failure to respond to my inquiries as well as his refusal to respond and/or cooperate with the Alabama Dental Association with regard to the Peer Review Committee."

The Wrights contend that prior to November 1989 they only suspected that Mills had committed dental malpractice and that it was not until November 1989, when Barbara consulted Dr. John Miller, a periodontist, that they discovered facts sufficient to indicate that they had a claim against Dr. Mills. The Wrights further contend that a genuine issue of fact exists as to when they discovered the alleged malpractice of Dr. Mills; thus, they conclude that the trial court improperly granted Mills's motion for summary judgment because, they say, they "discovered" their claim against Mills within the six-month discovery period.

Mills contends that the trial court correctly ruled on his motion because, he says, the Wrights had already discovered, or could have discovered during 1989, all the elements of their cause of action. Mills further contends that because the Wrights discovered their cause of action within the two-year period of limitations they are not entitled to any additional time provided under the discovery provision of § 6-5-482.

The issue for our consideration is whether the trial court erred in granting Mills's motion for summary judgment on the ground that the Wrights' cause of action was barred under Ala.Code 1975, § 6-5-482. Specifically, the issue concerns whether the Wrights discovered or should have discovered their cause of action in June 1989. 2 We reverse and remand.

Rule 56, A.R.Civ.P., sets forth a two-tiered standard for entering summary judgment. The rule requires that the trial court, in order to enter a summary judgment, determine: (1) that there is no genuine issue of material fact and (2) that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. We further note that all reasonable doubts concerning the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be resolved against the moving party. Hanners v. Balfour Guthrie, Inc., 564 So.2d 412 (Ala.1990). Once the moving party makes a prima facie showing that no genuine issue of material facts exist, then the nonmovant has the burden of going forward with evidence demonstrating the existence of a genuine issue of material fact. Grider v. Grider, 555 So.2d 104 (Ala.1989).

Because this action was filed after June 11, 1987, Ala.Code 1975, § 12-21-12, mandates that the nonmovant meet his burden by "substantial evidence." Bass v. SouthTrust Bank of Baldwin County, 538 So.2d 794, 797-98 (Ala.1989). Under the substantial evidence standard, the nonmovant must present "evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved." West v. Founders Life Assurance Co. of Florida, 547...

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  • Barton v. American Red Cross
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama
    • September 29, 1992
    ...become available, the issue is a question of fact for the jury that cannot be decided on summary judgment. Similarly, in Wright v. Mills, 590 So.2d 177, 182 (Ala.1991), the court held that summary judgment was improper because the parties presented conflicting evidence as to when plaintiff ......
  • Flint Constr. Co. v. Hall
    • United States
    • Alabama Supreme Court
    • December 30, 2004
    ...work, that was not true in Hall's case. It is axiomatic that it is the jury's province to resolve conflicts in testimony, Wright v. Mills, 590 So.2d 177 (Ala. 1991), and to judge the credibility of witnesses, Floyd v. Broughton, 664 So.2d 897 (Ala.1995). On proper instruction, a jury conclu......
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    • June 3, 2005
    ...have you, sir? "A. No." (Emphasis added.) It is axiomatic that it is the jury's province to resolve conflicts in testimony, Wright v. Mills, 590 So.2d 177 (Ala.1991), and to judge the credibility of witnesses, Floyd v. Broughton, 664 So.2d 897 (Ala. 1995). If the jury concluded that Hill wa......

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