Brumley v. Naples

896 S.W.2d 860, 320 Ark. 310, 1995 Ark. LEXIS 237
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedApril 10, 1995
Docket94-1194
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 896 S.W.2d 860 (Brumley v. Naples) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brumley v. Naples, 896 S.W.2d 860, 320 Ark. 310, 1995 Ark. LEXIS 237 (Ark. 1995).

Opinion

Donald L. Corbin, Justice.

Appellant, Shirley Brumley, appeals an order of the Union County Circuit Court granting the motion of appellee, James J. Naples, for summary judgment and dismissing with prejudice appellant’s complaint for malpractice and breach of contract. Our jurisdiction of the appeal is proper pursuant to Ark. Sup. Ct. R. l-2(a)(16) because it raises a question about the law of torts. Appellant raises five points for reversal. We find no error and affirm the trial court’s judgment.

On July 7, 1988, appellee, a podiatrist, performed a surgical procedure to remove bunions located on the sides of appellant’s feet. The procedure was performed at the New Boston General Hospital, in New Boston, Texas. After the procedure, appellant’s left foot was improved, but she complained of persistent coldness and numbness in the great toe and second digit of her right foot.

On April 18, 1990, appellant filed an action for damages against appellee, alleging her injuries were caused by appellee’s negligence in damaging the nerves of her right foot during the surgery. 1 Appellant’s complaint set forth claims based on negligence in the surgery, lack of informed consent, and breach of contract. Appellee answered with a general denial of the complaint’s allegations.

On April 20, 1992, appellee filed a motion for summary judgment based on appellant’s failure to prove that appellee had acted outside the applicable standard of care. The motion was supported by appellee’s affidavit which incorporated several exhibits including appellant’s answers to interrogatories, appellant’s response to request for production of documents, appellant’s deposition, and copies of the hospital’s admission forms. Appellant responded that the motion was untimely inasmuch as discovery had not been completed and issues of fact remained; she attached her affidavit. Appellee’s motion was denied.

On December 3, 1992, appellee renewed his motion for summary judgment and argued that appellant had failed to disclose an expert witness to establish that appellee had acted outside the applicable standard of care; the renewed motion adopted appellee’s first motion. Appellant responded that appellee’s deposition established a standard to advise a patient of risk and danger, and that issues of fact remained regarding the contract and lack of informed consent. Appellant’s response was supported by appellee’s deposition and correspondence regarding the injury to appellant’s right foot. Appellee’s reply denied the existence of any contract, and asserted that expert testimony, other than his own deposition, was required to establish a standard of care on thejssues of negligence and informed consent.

By order filed April 28, 1993, the trial court found appellant had failed to disclose a “liability expert” except on the issue of informed consent, and granted partial summary judgment “as to all issues of liability except the issue of informed consent and breach of warranty and contract.”

On March 29, 1994, appellee filed a second renewed motion for summary judgment, attached as an exhibit thereto the deposition of appellant’s liability expert on the issue of informed consent, Mr. Luther Lewis, and argued the deposition failed to establish a fact question on that issue. The motion incorporated appellee’s earlier motions. Appellant argued, in response, that Lewis was indeed an expert on the issue of the standard of care for informed consent.

By order filed September 6, 1994, incorporating a letter opinion dated August 16, 1994, the trial court found that it had instructed appellant by order filed February 16, 1993 2 to disclose liability experts by March 29, 1993; that appellant had identified Lewis as an expert as to the issue of informed consent; that Lewis could not offer an opinion as to the proper standard of care for a podiatrist pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 16-114-206(b)(1) (1987); that appellant had failed to disclose any other liability expert; and, that appellee’s motion for summary judgment as to “all issues of liability” was thereby granted and the complaint dismissed with prejudice. This appeal arises therefrom.

For reversal, appellant first argues that section 16-114-206, setting forth the burden of proof in medical malpractice actions, is unconstitutional. Our review of the abstract reveals that this issue was mentioned once before the trial court, to-wit, in her response to appellee’s first motion for summary judgment, appellant stated: “Defendant argues that expert medical testimony is required in this case. If it were, the statute concerning actions for medical malpractice would be unconstitutional as legislation that is special, or class legislation.” The abstract is otherwise devoid of any mention of this issue by either party or by the trial court.

On this record, we conclude that appellant’s constitutional challenge was neither properly briefed nor argued to the trial court, and that the trial court made no ruling on appellant’s objection. The burden of obtaining a ruling on this issue was on appellant; her failure to do so, leaving the issue unresolved, operated as a waiver of the argument on appeal. Parmley v. Moose, 317 Ark. 52, 876 S.W.2d 243 (1994). Further, the record reveals that no notice of appellant’s constitutional challenge was given to the Attorney General pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 16-111-106 (1987), and, on that ground, we may choose not to consider the argument on appeal. Reagan v. City of Piggott, 305 Ark. 77, 805 S.W.2d 636 (1991).

Appellant’s second argument is that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because, on the proof presented, there was a genuine issue of material fact on the issue of informed consent. Appellee responds that he was entitled to summary judgment on this issue because section 16-114-206(b) required expert medical testimony to establish the applicable standard of care for disclosure and appellant failed to produce such testimony. Appellant argues that, viewing the proof in the light most favorable to her as the party resisting the summary judgment motion, this court must find that appellee made no disclosure of the risks of surgery, and, on such proof, evidence of a standard for disclosure is not required because absolute nondisclosure violates any disclosure standard.

The standard for our review of motions for summary judgment, as we have stated many times, is as follows:

Summary judgment is a remedy that should be granted only when it is clear that there is no genuine issue of material fact to be litigated. [Citation omitted.] The burden of proving that there is no genuine issue of material fact is upon the movant, and all proof submitted must be viewed in a light most favorable to the party resisting the motion. Any doubts, and inferences must be resolved against the moving party. [Citations omitted.] The burden in a summary judgment proceeding is on the moving party and cannot be shifted when there is no offer of proof on a controverted issue.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
896 S.W.2d 860, 320 Ark. 310, 1995 Ark. LEXIS 237, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brumley-v-naples-ark-1995.