Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. v. Tenet Healthcare Corp.

709 N.E.2d 1060, 1999 Ind. App. LEXIS 723, 1999 WL 274982
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 6, 1999
DocketNo. 10A01-9807-CV-243
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 709 N.E.2d 1060 (Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. v. Tenet Healthcare Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. v. Tenet Healthcare Corp., 709 N.E.2d 1060, 1999 Ind. App. LEXIS 723, 1999 WL 274982 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinions

OPINION

GARRARD, Judge

Facts and Procedural History

1. The Parties

The plaintiffs in this ease are Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc.' and Anthem Life Insurance Company (collectively known as “Anthem”). Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. was formerly known as Associated Insurance Companies, Inc. and is incorporated under Indiana law with its principal place of business in Indianapolis, Indiana. Anthem Life Insurance Company is incorporated under Texas law with its principal place of business in Texas. Anthem issues health insurance policies and other health-related contracts.

National Medical Enterprises, Inc. (“NME”) was a corporation organized under Nevada law with its principal place of business in California. In 1995, NME changed its name to Tenet Healthcare Corporation (“Tenet”) and now operates under that name. For our purposes, we will refer to this corporation as “Tenet/NME.” Tenet/NME owns, operates, and manages acute psychiatric hospitals across the United States through various subsidiaries. One of these subsidiaries was National Medical Enterprises Psychiatric Properties, Inc. (“NME Psychiatric Properties”), which operated Jefferson Hospital, Inc., P.I.A. Indianapolis, Inc., and P.I.A. Michigan City, Inc. In turn, these entities owned, respectively, Jefferson Hospital, Arbor Hospital, and Kingwood Hospital, all located in Indiana. In 1994, each of these hospitals was sold to Charter Medical Corporation.

National Medical Enterprises Hospitals, Inc. (“NME Hospitals”) is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in California and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tenet/NME. NME Hospitals operated two psychiatric hospitals in Dallas, Texas; Doctors Hospital and Brookhaven Psychiatric Pavilion.

2. Anthem’s Claim

On December 19, 1995, Anthem filed a complaint against Tenet/NME and forty-three other defendants, including NME Hospitals, NME Psychiatric Properties, and NME Psychiatric Hospitals, Inc. Anthem alleges that TeneVNME-owned health care providers knowingly admitted patients when their admission was not medically necessary or appropriate, and continued to hospitalize patients who no longer required medical at[1163]*1163tention. The providers then misrepresented or omitted material facts to Anthem in order to convince Anthem that the admissions were medically necessary, thus engaging in fraud. In reliance upon the misrepresentations, Anthem paid the insurance claims submitted for payment.

3. Motion to Dismiss

Tenet/NME, its three subsidiaries, and forty of the “non-resident” health care facilities filed a motion to dismiss under Indiana Trial Rules 12(B)(2) and (6).1 The trial court granted the motion to dismiss as it pertained to Tenet/NME and NME Hospitals.2 In so ruling, the court stated that Anthem “failed to demonstrate that contacts of these defendants with the forum state are of such a nature as would constitute ‘continuous and systematic’ contacts granting the court general jurisdiction over them.” Record at 1761. The court denied the remainder of the motion leaving, as defendants in the case, NME Psychiatric Hospitals, Jefferson Hospital, Inc. (Jefferson Hospital), P.I.A. Indianapolis, Inc. (Arbor Hospital of Greater Indianapolis), P.I.A. Michigan City, Inc. (Kingwood Hospital), and the thirty-seven “non-resident” health care provider facilities. Other facts will be discussed as necessary.

Issues

I. Whether the trial court erred in dismissing Anthem’s claim because of lack of personal jurisdiction over Tenet/NME.

II. Whether the trial court erred in dismissing Anthem’s claim because of lack of personal jurisdiction over NME Hospitals.

Discussion and Decision

Anthem contends that the trial court erred in dismissing its case against Tenet/NME and NME Hospitals for lack of personal jurisdiction.3 To determine whether a nonresident defendant’s contacts with the forum state are sufficient to confer personal jurisdiction, we engage in a two-part analysis. First, we determine whether our state’s “long-arm” statute authorizes the exercise of jurisdiction over the defendant. Second, we determine whether exerting jurisdiction over the defendant would offend the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Mullen v. Cogdell, 643 N.E.2d 390, 396 (Ind.Ct.App.1994), tram, denied.

A discussion of due process is premature, however, without initially considering the burden of proof in jurisdictional matters. In Indiana, jurisdiction is presumed and need not be asserted. Ind. Trial Rule 8(A). A party challenging jurisdiction must initially establish its lack by a preponderance of the evidence unless lack of personal jurisdiction is apparent on the face of the complaint. Alberts v. Mack Trucks, Inc., 540 N.E.2d 1268, 1270 (Ind.Ct.App.1989), trans. denied. Once a jurisdictional challenge is made by the defendant, the plaintiff must then come forward with evidence to establish jurisdiction. Baseball Card World, Inc. v. Pannette, 583 N.E.2d 753, 755 (Ind.Ct.App.1991), tram, denied.

Here, Anthem alleges jurisdiction over Tenet/NME and NME Hospitals on the face of the complaint. The complaint states that NME (referring to Tenet/NME and NME Psychiatric Hospitals) “owned, operated and managed acute psychiatric rehabilitation hospitals throughout the United States. In particular, NME operated and controlled the remaining defendant corporations-” Record at 21. Three of the defendant hospitals were located in Indiana. A trial court’s jurisdiction over a nonresident is governed by Indiana Trial Rule 4.4(A) which reads in relevant part as follows:

(A) Any person or organization that is a nonresident of this state, ... submits to [1164]*1164the jurisdiction of the courts of this state as to any action arising from the following acts committed by him or her or his or her agent:

(1) doing any business in this state; ... Therefore, Anthem alleged a basis for the exercise of jurisdiction over Tenet/NME and NME Hospitals by an Indiana court—that Tenet/NME was doing business in Indiana. At this point, it was the defendants’ burden to come forward with evidence to establish that Indiana courts did not have jurisdiction, which it did in the form of an affidavit by Lawrence Hixon, a vice-president of Tenet/NME. In response to the defendants’ motion to dismiss, Anthem also produced evidence to establish jurisdiction. Thus, we must examine the facts presented along with the requirements of due process to determine whether the trial court erred in granting the motion to dismiss. In making this determination, we will employ an abuse of discretion standard as the decision whether to grant a motion to dismiss based on lack of personal jurisdiction lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. Mid-States Aircraft Engines v. Mize Co., 467 N.E.2d 1242, 1247 (Ind.Ct.App.1984).

Due process requires that the defendant have certain minimum contacts with the forum state.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Anthem Ins. Companies v. Tenet Healthcare Corp.
730 N.E.2d 1227 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
709 N.E.2d 1060, 1999 Ind. App. LEXIS 723, 1999 WL 274982, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anthem-insurance-companies-inc-v-tenet-healthcare-corp-indctapp-1999.