Gazelka v. St. Peter S Hospital

2015 MT 127, 347 P.3d 1287, 379 Mont. 142, 2015 Mont. LEXIS 228
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedMay 12, 2015
DocketDA 14-0380
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2015 MT 127 (Gazelka v. St. Peter S Hospital) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gazelka v. St. Peter S Hospital, 2015 MT 127, 347 P.3d 1287, 379 Mont. 142, 2015 Mont. LEXIS 228 (Mo. 2015).

Opinions

JUSTICE BAKER

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 Jessica Gazelka sued St. Peter’s Hospital in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, alleging that the Hospital discriminated against her based on her lack of health insurance. We address the following issues on appeal:

[143]*1431. Whether the District Court erred in determining that Gazelka has standing.
2. Whether the District Court erred in awarding the Hospital summary judgment on the merits.

¶2 We affirm the District Court’s determination that Gazelka has standing, and vacate and remand the District Court’s order granting summary judgment.

PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶3 In early 2010, Gazelka had no health insurance when she was involved in a motor vehicle accident in Helena. She received treatment from the Hospital. The driver of the vehicle that struck Gazelka had a Safeco vehicle insurance policy with a $100,000 general liability limit. In accordance with Ridley v. Guar. Nat’l Ins. Co., 286 Mont. 325, 951 P.2d 987 (1997), Safeco paid the Hospital for some of Gazelka’s medical bills. When Safeco settled for the $100,000 liability limit, the Ridley payments were deducted from the settlement funds that Gazelka received.

¶4 In early 2011, Gazelka again was uninsured and received treatment from the Hospital. She did not pay for the treatment. The Hospital referred Gazelka’s account to a debt collector, which sued Gazelka and received a judgment against her.

¶5 In September 2011, Gazelka filed suit against the Hospital, alleging that the Hospital violated Montana anti-trust laws and Article II, Section 4 of the Montana Constitution by discriminating against her on the basis of her uninsured status. Gazelka’s complaint centers on preferred provider agreements (PPAs). PPAs are agreements between insurers and healthcare providers regarding the amount and the manner of payment that providers will accept as satisfaction for treatment rendered to insured persons. The undisputed evidence shows that the Hospital has PPAs with several insurers. Thus, Gazelka alleges that while the initial amount the Hospital charges to a patient remains the same regardless of the patient’s insurance status, the actual amount the Hospital will accept as full compensation for its services depends on whether the patient has insurance and which company provides that insurance. The Montana Preferred Provider Agreements Act (MPPAA) authorizes PPAs. Sections 33-22-1701 through 1707, MCA.

¶6 Gazelka argues that the MPPAA is unconstitutional. Without valid statutory authorization, she argues that the Hospital’s billing practices violate state anti-trust laws. Moreover, she argues that the Hospital’s billing practices are themselves unconstitutional. She seeks [144]*144to certify a class action on behalf of persons who have been discriminated against on the basis of their insurance status.

¶7 In November 2011, the Hospital moved to dismiss Gazelka’s complaint. Among other things, the Hospital argued that Article II, Section 4 is not self-executing and does not provide a cause of action against a private party; that Gazelka failed to follow the Montana Human Rights Act’s mandatory administrative process for resolving discrimination disputes; and that Gazelka’s allegations did not state a claim for unconstitutional conduct. The District Court denied the motion.1

¶8 After that ruling, the parties and the District Court apparently decided to litigate standing and constitutional claims before turning to class certification. In January 2013, Gazelka moved for partial summary judgment, arguing that she was entitled to judgment that (1) the Hospital’s billing practices are unconstitutional, and (2) the MPPAA is unconstitutional. The Hospital responded by arguing that Gazelka’s motion was premature. It sought to continue discovery under M. R. Civ. P. 56(f), and, in the alternative, moved for summary judgment on the ground that Gazelka lacks standing.

¶9 In May 2014, the District Court ruled on the summary judgment motions. The court concluded that Gazelka has standing. But, after determining that uninsured persons are not a protected class under the Montana Constitution, the court awarded summary judgment to the Hospital on the merits and dismissed the suit. The parties filed cross-appeals. Gazelka attacks the entry of summary judgment on the merits, while the Hospital appeals the standing determination.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶10 Standing is a threshold question that this Court determines as a matter of law and reviews de novo. Chipman v. Nw. Healthcare Corp., 2012 MT 242, ¶¶ 16, 19, 366 Mont. 450, 288 P.3d 193. We also review summary judgment orders de novo. Albert v. City of Billings, 2012 MT 159, ¶ 15, 365 Mont. 454, 282 P.3d 704. Summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party demonstrates the absence of a genuine issue of material fact and entitlement to judgment asa matter of law. M. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(3); Albert, ¶ 15.

[145]*145DISCUSSION

¶11 2. Whether the District Court erred in determining that Gazelka has standing.

¶12 Standing doctrine addresses whether a litigant is entitled to have a court resolve a dispute in light of the adverseness of the parties, their stakes in the matter, the dispute’s concreteness, and the judiciary’s function. See Chipman, ¶ 25. In Montana, a plaintiff has standing if she suffers an actual or threatened injury that is redressable through her action’s success. Chipman, ¶ 26.

¶13 The District Court concluded that Gazelka has standing on the basis of a financial injury arising from treatment at the Hospital in early 2011. The Hospital charged Gazelka a non-discounted amount for that treatment and, after Gazelka failed to pay, referred Gazelka to collections for that amount. On appeal, the Hospital argues that Gazelka’s failure to pay the non-discounted amount was “a clear attempt to manufacture standing” and thus not a real financial injury. Further, the Hospital argues that non-discounted amounts that Gazelka was charged in 2010 did not cause her a financial injury because those amounts were paid by Safeco, the insurer of the driver whose vehicle collided with Gazelka’s.

¶14 We do not address these financial injury arguments. Under the claims that Gazelka alleges, she need not show a financial injury to have standing. In Ne. Fla. Chapter of Associated Gen. Contractors of Am. v. City of Jacksonville, 508 U.S. 656, 113 S. Ct. 2297 (1993) (Contractors), the United States Supreme Court discussed standing in the context of the United States Constitution’s equal protection clause:

When the government erects a barrier that makes it more difficult for members of one group to obtain a benefit than it is for members of another group, a member of the former group seeking to challenge the barrier need not allege that he would have obtained the benefit but for the barrier in order to establish standing.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2015 MT 127, 347 P.3d 1287, 379 Mont. 142, 2015 Mont. LEXIS 228, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gazelka-v-st-peter-s-hospital-mont-2015.