Baptist Hospital, Inc. v. Baker

84 So. 3d 1200, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 5320, 2012 WL 1150211
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedApril 9, 2012
DocketNo. 1D11-5236
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 84 So. 3d 1200 (Baptist Hospital, Inc. v. Baker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baptist Hospital, Inc. v. Baker, 84 So. 3d 1200, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 5320, 2012 WL 1150211 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

WETHERELL, J.

Baptist Hospital, Inc. (BHI) appeals the order certifying two classes in this suit challenging the liens imposed by BHI under Escambia County’s hospital lien law1 for services rendered at BHI’s satellite facilities in Santa Rosa County. BHI argues, and we agree, that the trial court abused its discretion in certifying Class II because the representative for that class, Appellee Marco Demello, lacks standing and because the trial court’s order is facially inconsistent as to whether Demello [1203]*1203meets the typicality requirement for the class. Accordingly, we reverse the certification of Class II. We affirm the certification of Class I and the designation of Appellee Marc Baker as representative of that class without further comment.

BACKGROUND

In October 2010, Demello and William Kollar filed a class action complaint against BHI alleging unjust enrichment and violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA), and seeking damages, injunctive, and declaratory relief. The complaint alleged that Demello and Kollar were each treated in the emergency room of a hospital owned and operated by BHI in Santa Rosa County following automobile accidents; that BHI asserted liens under the Escambia County hospital lien law for the cost of the treatment; and that the liens were invalid because, unlike Escambia County, Santa. Rosa County had not adopted a hospital lien law. The complaint sought certification of two classes, with Kollar (whose lien had not been satisfied) as representative of Class I and Demello (who had paid his lien) as representative of Class II. The complaint was amended to substitute Baker as the putative representative for Class I after the trial court granted summary judgment against Kollar.2 As reflected in the amended complaint and the amended motion for class certification, the proposed classes were as follows:

Class I
All persons who had a hospital lien asserted by Baptist Hospital, Inc., pursuant to Chapter 30733, Laws of Florida 1955, on or after October 21, 2006, for injuries for which they received medical care at Gulf Breeze Hospital, Baptist Medical Park-Navarre, Jay Hospital, The Andrews Institute and/or The Andrews Institute-Navarre.
Class II
All persons who paid, in whole or in part, from any source a hospital lien asserted by Baptist Hospital, Inc., pursuant to Chapter 30733, Laws of Florida 1955, on or after October 21, 2006, for injuries for which they received medical care at Gulf Breeze Hospital, Baptist Medical Park-Navarre, Jay Hospital, The Andrews Institute and/or The Andrews Institute-Navarre, and for whom Baptist Hospital, Inc., has billed health care and/or insurance entity(ies), including but not limited to Medicare, Medicaid, Med-Pay, Tricare, workers compensation, and no fault automobile insurance, for the medical care provided and received payment from such entity(ies).

On August 31, 2011, after an evidentiary hearing, the trial court entered an order granting the amended motion for class certification. The order included detailed findings on each of the prerequisites for class certification under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.220(a) — numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy — and found that certification of Class I was appropriate under rule 1.220(b)(1) and (b)(2), and that certification of Class II was appropriate under rule 1.220(b)(3). The trial court designated Baker and Demello as the representatives for Class I and Class II, respectively, and redefined the classes as follows:

Class I
All persons who had a hospital lien asserted by Baptist Hospital, Inc., pursuant to Chapter 30733, Laws of Florida [1204]*12041955, on or after October 21, 2006, for injuries for which they received medical care at Gulf Breeze Hospital, Baptist Medical Park-Navarre, Jay Hospital, the Andrews Institute and/or The Andrews Institute-Navarre and such lien has not been satisfied through a monetary payment from any source.
Class II
All persons who had a hospital lien asserted by Baptist Hospital, Inc., pursuant to Chapter 30733, Laws of Florida 1955, on or after October 21, 2006, for injuries for which they received medical care at Gulf Breeze Hospital, Baptist Medical Park-Navarre, Jay Hospital, the Andrews Institute and/or The Andrews Institute-Navarre and such lien has been satisfied through a monetary payment from any source.

Appellant timely appealed the class certification order to this court. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3)(vi).

ANALYSIS

We review the trial court’s decision on class certification for an abuse of discretion. See Sosa v. Safeway Premium Fin. Co., 73 So.3d 91, 102-03 (Fla.2011). We examine the factual findings on which the decision is based for competent substantial evidence and review de novo the legal conclusions underlying the decision. Id. at 105.

When ruling on a motion for class certification, a threshold issue the trial court must address is whether the putative class representative has standing to represent the members of the class. Id. at 116-17. We review de novo the determination that a party has standing. Id.

In order to meet the standing requirement, the putative class representative must establish that a case or controversy exists between himself and the defendant that will continue throughout the litigation. Id. at 117. A case or controversy exists if a party alleges an actual or legal injury that the relief sought will address. Id. The injury must be distinct and palpable, not abstract or hypothetical. Id.

Here, the trial court erred in designating Demello as the representative for Class II because he lacks standing to assert a claim for damages against BHI. Demello and the class he purports to represent seek damages under FDUTPA, which “is intended to ‘protect the consuming public and legitimate business enterprises from those who engage in unfair methods of competition, or unconscionable, deceptive, or unfair acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce’.... ” Rollins, Inc. v. Butland, 951 So.2d 860, 869 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006). In order to assert a claim for damages under FDUTPA, the 'plaintiff must establish: “(1) a deceptive act or unfair practice; (2) causation; and (3) actual damages.” Kia Motors Am. Corp. v. Butler, 985 So.2d 1133, 1140 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008). Actual damages are “the difference in the market value of the product or service in the condition in which it was delivered and its market value in the condition in which it should have been delivered according to the contract of the parties.” Rollins v. Heller, 454 So.2d 580, 585 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984) (quoting Raye v. Fred Oakley Motors, Inc., 646 S.W.2d 288, 290 (Tex.App.1983)).

The record establishes that Demello suffered no “actual damages” as a result of his payment of the allegedly illegal lien. Demello testified in his deposition that he had no issues with the services he was provided by the hospital or the amount he was billed for those services.

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Bluebook (online)
84 So. 3d 1200, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 5320, 2012 WL 1150211, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baptist-hospital-inc-v-baker-fladistctapp-2012.