In re Wagner

530 B.R. 695, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 1529, 60 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 266, 2015 WL 2084686
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedMay 5, 2015
DocketCase No. 09-33103
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 530 B.R. 695 (In re Wagner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Wagner, 530 B.R. 695, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 1529, 60 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 266, 2015 WL 2084686 (Wis. 2015).

Opinion

[697]*697MEMORANDUM DECISION ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Margaret Dee McGarity, United States Bankruptcy Judge

This matter came before the Court on the debtor’s objection to the trustee’s motion to compromise claim. After preliminary hearings on the matter were held on January 6, 2015, and February 18, 2015, both parties filed motions for summary judgment and briefs supporting their respective positions. This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and this is a core proceeding ünder 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A). This decision constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law under Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7052.

BACKGROUND

The facts relevant to this motion are not in dispute. The debtor filed a no asset •chapter 7 bankruptcy case on September 10, 2009, and received a discharge on February 3, 2010. Prior to filing her case, on February 5, 2009, the debtor received a total hip replacement using the A.SR Hip System. In the schedules listing the debt- or’s assets, she did not disclose a claim or potential claim, regarding the hip replacement device. The trustee filed a no asset report on November 6, 2009, and the case was closed on February 3, 2010.

According to the debtor’s affidavit (Doc. # 55), around September of 2010 — approximately one year after the debtor had filed her bankruptcy petition — the debtor learned that a small number of people who had received her particular hip implant device were experiencing problems with their device and that DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., issued a recall of the device on August 24, 2010. The debtor’s doctor contacted her in September of 2010 and recommended that she undergo some medical tests. On November 5, 2010, the debtor had an MRI and some lab work performed to check the condition of the hip replacement device. The MRI did not reveal any abnormalities. The lab work indicated a slightly elevated cobalt level in her blood, but there was no evidence, such as fluid collection, mass, pseudo cyst formation, or lesion that would have indicated that she would need hip revision surgery. While there may have been ■ some indication at that time that the device was starting to fail, her orthopedic doctor did not recommend surgery following the outcome of the initial MRI and lab work. The debtor subsequently obtain a bone scan on November 22, 2010, which also did not reveal any problem with the hip implant device. After later meeting with her doctor on December 7, 2010, the debtor was informed for the first time that she may need hip revision surgery. She had that surgery on January 14, 2011. The debtor incurred additional post-bankruptcy medical costs associated with the hip revision surgery which she has been unable to pay.

The debtor retained Cannon & Dunphy, S.C., to pursue claims against DePuy for damages incurred as a result of the hip replacement. The firm represented the debtor in the U.S. ASR Hip Settlement Multidistrict Litigation (MDL), in the District Court of the Northern District of Ohio. In the debtor’s Abbreviated Short Form Complaint, the following allegation was made:

On or about February 5, 2009, Plaintiff, Jodi Wagner, suffered the following personal and economic injur(ies) as a result of the implantation with the ASR hip implant: past and future pain, suffering, disability and loss of enjoyment of life; past and future medical expenses, past and future wage loss and impairment of earning capacity; and other compensa-ble injuries and damages.

[698]*698(Abbreviated Short Form Complaint for DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, dated November 19, 2012, N.D. Ohio, MDL No. l;10-md-2197, ¶ 7).

An MDL Settlement Agreement was reached on November 13, 2013, wherein a U.S. HSR Settlement Program was established to compensate eligible claimants. Through personal injury counsel, the debt- or was offered a Gross Settlement award. In order to participate in the Settlement Agreement, she is required to provide a release for any additional claim for damages, including medical costs she may incur in the future. Only those people who have actually had hip revision surgery are eligible to participate in the Gross Settlement Agreement. Persons who had a hip replacement using the hip implant device at issue, but who have not had the hip revision surgery, are not eligible to participate in the Gross Settlement Agreement. In addition -to the Gross Settlement, the debtor is seeking additional damages under the Extraordinary Injury Fund established by the Settlement Program.

On September 5, 2014, the United States Trustee moved to reopen the case, seeking to allow the chapter 7 trustee to administer the settlement proceeds for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate’s creditors. The case was reopened on September 23, 2014, and the trustee filed a Notice of Recovery of Assets and Opportunity to File Proof of Claim. The trustee subsequently filed a Motion to Compromise Claim in order to accept the terms of the HSR Settlement Program relative to the debtor’s claim. The debtor opposed the motion, seeking a determination that her right to participate in the Settlement Agreement is not property of the estate. It does not appear that either party wishes to pursue a claim independent of the MDL settlement. The debtor and the trustee both filed motions for summary judgment regarding the motion to compromise.

ARGUMENTS

The Debtor’s Arguments.

The debtor argues the cause of action relating to the defective medical device is not property of the estate because it was not property of the debtor “as of the commencement of the case.” 11 U.S.C. § 541(a)(1). State law determines property rights, and the debtor had not sustained any damages — -an essential element of a product liability cause of action — as of the petition date, September 10, 2009. See Wis. Stat. § 895.047(l)(e). “In Wisconsin, a plaintiff does not have a personal injury claim until he or she has suffered ‘actual’ injury or damage. Increased risk of future harm is not an actual injury under Wisconsin law.” Alsteen v. Wauleco, Inc., 335 Wis.2d 473, 476, 802 N.W.2d.212 (2011). A plaintiff cannot sue for speculative or conjectural damages. See Sopha v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp., 230 Wis.2d 212, 601 N.W.2d 627 (1999) (finding even though plaintiff was aware of asbestos exposure at earlier date, cause of action for mesothelioma did not accrue until after he actually developed mesothelioma).

To determine when a cause of action accrues, Wisconsin has adopted the “discovery-rule,” wherein “tort claims accrue on the date the injury is discovered or with reasonable diligence should be discovered, whichever occurs first.” Hansen v. A.H. Robins Inc., 113 Wis.2d 550, 335 N.W.2d 578, 581 (1983).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
530 B.R. 695, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 1529, 60 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 266, 2015 WL 2084686, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-wagner-wieb-2015.