Colomar v. Mercy Hospital, Inc.

242 F.R.D. 671, 68 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 382, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46696, 2007 WL 1784118
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedApril 11, 2007
DocketNo. 05-22409-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 242 F.R.D. 671 (Colomar v. Mercy Hospital, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Colomar v. Mercy Hospital, Inc., 242 F.R.D. 671, 68 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 382, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46696, 2007 WL 1784118 (S.D. Fla. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

SEITZ, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Plaintiff Barbara Colomar’s Motion for Class Certification (“Motion”) [DE-136] under Fed. R.Civ.P. 23(a), (b)(2) and (b)(3). Plaintiffs Motion asks the Court to certify a class of all uninsured patients who, like Plaintiff, received medical care at Defendant Mercy Hospital, Inc. (“Mercy”) since July 19, 1999, six years prior to the filing of the Complaint. Plaintiff alleges that Mercy charged her and the proposed class of uninsured patients an unfairly high price for the Medical services they received from Mercy. Plaintiff claims that these unfair prices constitute a breach of contract and a violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, § 501.201, Fla. Stat., et seq. (“FDUTPA”). Plaintiff moves to certify two types of classes, one under Rule 23(b)(2) seeking in-junctive and declaratory relief (the “Injunc-tive Class”) and/or one under Rule 23(b)(3) seeking monetary damages (the “Damages Class”).

Having considered the Motion, the response and reply thereto,1 the applicable case law and the pertinent record, the Court finds that Plaintiff has not met her burden of establishing the requirements of Rule 23 needed to certify the proposed class. Although Plaintiffs Motion is inadequate in several respects, its chief weakness is that Plaintiffs claims — which are based on the reasonableness of the charges in her particular case — are so fact intensive that individual issues predominate over the common ones defeating certification of the Damages Class under Rule 23(b)(3). Likewise, the reasonableness of Plaintiffs particular bill does not support declaratory or injunctive relief on behalf of a class as a whole. Therefore, certification of the Injunctive Class under Rule 23(b)(2) is improper. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth herein, Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff was a patient at Mercy Hospital between March 5-6, 2003. See Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) [DE-47] Hf 5, 41-42. She came to Mercy due to shortness of breath after being exposed to pesticides in her home. Id. Plaintiff had a chest x-ray, ventilation/perfusion lung scan and an EKG; she was treated with steroids and oxygen, and given respiratory therapy. SAC 11115, 42. After Plaintiff was discharged from the hospital, she received a bill from Mercy totaling $12,863.00. SAC 1143. That bill is the source of this dispute.

At the time of her admission to Mercy, Plaintiff was uninsured and did not qualify for Medicaid or other assistance programs. SAC HH 5, 41. Prior to receiving any treatment or services from Mercy, Plaintiff signed an “Authorization and Guarantee” form (the [674]*674“contract”) in which she agreed to pay for the treatment and services Mercy was to provide. Importantly, the contract makes no reference to the services Plaintiff would need or the prices she would be charged. See SAC 1166; Ex. A. As the Court has previously ruled, when the price term in a contract for services is undefined, Florida law requires the price to be reasonable. See DE-41 p. 6-7 (Supplemental Order); Payne v. Humana Hosp. Orange Park, 661 So.2d 1239 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (per curiam).

Plaintiff alleges that Mercy breached the contract because the bill she received for $12,863.00 is unreasonably high for the services rendered. Plaintiff claims that the rate Mercy charged her was unreasonable because it greatly exceeded the rate Mercy charged to those with insurance or government benefits, because the price greatly exceeded the prices charged by other hospitals and because the price bears no rational relationship to Mercy’s actual costs. See SAC UK 30-32, 43-45.

In addition to the breach of contract claim, Plaintiff alleges that Mercy’s conduct of grossly inflating the rates charged to her and other uninsured persons violates the FDUT-PA because such charging conduct is unfair in violation of the statute. SAC 1171. The Court has already held that Plaintiffs allegations are sufficient to state claims and to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. See DE-41(Supplemental Order); see also Colomar v. Mercy Hosp., Inc., 461 F.Supp.2d 1265 (S.D.Fla.2006).

Plaintiff now moves to certify two types of classes using the following class definition: Plf. Mot., DE-135, p. I.2 The Injunctive Class seeks a declaration that “Mercy’s practice of charging unreasonable prices to Plaintiff and the Class for health care constitutes a breach of contract” and a permanent injunction barring Mercy “from continuing to overcharge plaintiff and the Class.” Plf. Mem. at 13. The Damages Class seeks damages in the form of monetary recovery for overpayments of unreasonable charges.

All individuals (or their guardians or representatives) who, between July 19, 1999 and through the date of judgment, received any form of medical treatment at Mercy Hospital and were uninsured at the time of treatment.

II. Class Certification Standard

To certify the proposed class, Plaintiff bears the burden of satisfying all four requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) as well as the requirements of either Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2) or (b)(3). See Valley Drug Co. v. Geneva Pharms., Inc., 350 F.3d 1181, 1188 (11th Cir.2003); Rutstein v. Avis Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc., 211 F.3d 1228, 1232 (11th Cir.2000). Failure to satisfy any one of the Rule 23(a) factors, or any of the Rule 23(b) factors, precludes class certification. Valley Drug, 350 F.3d at 1188 (citing Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 615-18, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689 (1997)).

Rule 23(a) requires Plaintiff to demonstrate that: “(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a).3 If Plaintiff can meet her burden if estabhshing the Rule 23(a) factors, then she must satisfy the requirements of either Rule 23(b)(2) or 23(b)(3).

Certification of the Damages Class under Rule 23(b)(3) requires Plaintiff to establish that “the questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and effi[675]*675cient adjudication of the controversy.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3).

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Bluebook (online)
242 F.R.D. 671, 68 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 382, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46696, 2007 WL 1784118, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/colomar-v-mercy-hospital-inc-flsd-2007.