Mullins v. Med. Lien Mgmt., Inc.

411 P.3d 798
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 26, 2013
DocketCourt of Appeals No. 11CA0699
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 411 P.3d 798 (Mullins v. Med. Lien Mgmt., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mullins v. Med. Lien Mgmt., Inc., 411 P.3d 798 (Colo. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion by JUDGE TAUBMAN

*801¶ 1 Jerry Mullins, plaintiff, appeals the trial court's judgment in favor of defendant, Medical Lien Management Inc. (MLM), in an interpleader action Mullins initiated, and MLM's counterclaims for breach of contract and declaratory judgment. Addressing an issue of first impression, we conclude the trial court did not err in permitting MLM to litigate its counterclaims, even though it did not reassert them in responding to Mullins's amended complaint. We also reject Mullins's challenges to the trial court's discovery rulings and ruling allowing MLM's witness to testify without being certified as an expert. Accordingly, we affirm.

I. Background

¶ 2 This case has a complex procedural background, and we summarize the relevant portions here.1

¶ 3 This interpleader action stems from settlement proceeds recovered by Mullins from Betty S. Ferrell and her insurer for injuries Mullins sustained when Ferrell rear-ended Mullins's vehicle. The settlement totaled $16,141.16, $7, 520 of which Mullins's law firm, Darrell S. Elliott, P.C. (DSE), withheld pursuant to their fee agreement.

¶ 4 When the settlement occurred, MLM claimed to hold a medical lien of $17,081.10 on the settlement funds. According to MLM, the lien represented charges for care provided to Mullins by SpineOne P.C., a medical services provider, as a result of injuries sustained by Mullins in the car accident. SpineOne later assigned the lien to MLM.2

¶ 5 In light of MLM's claimed interest in the settlement funds, Mullins filed an interpleader action in the trial court to determine rightful ownership of the $16,141.16. The complaint alleged that Mullins disputed the extent of his indebtedness, and that he claimed an interest in the settlement funds superior to that of MLM.3 The complaint did not dispute the existence or validity of MLM's medical lien.

¶ 6 MLM asserted numerous affirmative defenses and counterclaims for breach of contract and declaratory judgment. In August 2010, MLM moved for summary judgment on all claims. Before the trial court decided the summary judgment motion, the case proceeded to trial on September 21, 2010. At trial, Mullins's DSE attorney informed the court that he had not been in contact with Mullins for approximately two years and did not know his whereabouts. Accordingly, the trial court dismissed the case because the DSE law firm had prosecuted it without communicating with Mullins. The court also sanctioned DSE for bringing the case without Mullins's consent.

¶ 7 In March 2011, DSE moved the trial court to reconsider its dismissal and order of sanctions. The court granted the motion, concluding that it had erred in dismissing the case and sanctioning DSE without first holding an evidentiary hearing regarding DSE's contact with Mullins. Following a hearing at which DSE presented evidence that Mullins had authorized the firm to bring the interpleader *802action, the trial court reversed its dismissal and order of sanctions.

¶ 8 Following a trial, in a detailed and thorough order, the trial court found in favor of MLM on all claims and counterclaims. Specifically, the trial court found that (1) MLM had a valid lien on the settlement funds, (2) the lien required Mullins to pay for any amount not covered by the settlement funds, (3) the cost of Mullins's medical services was reasonable and necessary, and (4) Mullins had not paid MLM the amount owed under the lien and, thus, had breached the lien agreement. Accordingly, the trial court found MLM was entitled to the $8,381.79 of interpleader funds, and awarded MLM an additional $8,699.314 on its breach of contract claim. The trial court also awarded MLM prejudgment interest.

¶ 9 In reaching these conclusions, the trial court articulated four alternative rationales: (1) summary judgment should be granted in favor of MLM, nunc pro tunc, because MLM's summary judgment motion demonstrated that there was no issue of material fact and that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law; (2) MLM should be granted summary judgment based on the doctrine of judicial estoppel; (3) MLM proved that it was entitled to judgment by presenting sufficient evidence at trial; and (4) following the trial, the doctrine of judicial estoppel required the trial court to grant judgment in favor of MLM.

¶ 10 As discussed below, we affirm the trial court on its third rationale and, accordingly, do not address the others.

¶ 11 This appeal followed.

II. Abandonment of Counterclaims

¶ 12 Mullins raises an issue of first impression in Colorado by asserting that the trial court erred in ruling in favor of MLM on its counterclaims because MLM had abandoned its counterclaims when it failed to reassert them in its answer to Mullins's amended complaint. We conclude that under the circumstances presented here, MLM did not waive or abandon its counterclaims.

A. Standard of Review

¶ 13 Where the underlying facts are undisputed, we review de novo whether a party waives or abandons its counterclaim by failing to reassert that counterclaim with an answer to an amended pleading. See Roberts v. Novinger, 815 P.2d 996, 996-97 (Colo.App.1991) ; see also Nikolai v. Farmers Alliance Mut. Ins. Co., 830 P.2d 1070, 1073 (Colo.App.1991) ("[W]hether waiver has occurred is typically a question of fact, [but] it may be decided as a matter of law when the material facts are undisputed.") (citation omitted).

B. Relevant Facts

¶ 14 Mullins filed an amended complaint shortly after filing the original complaint in this action. In his motion to file the amended complaint, Mullins explained that the original complaint "inadvertently and incorrectly identified" the amount to be decided in the interpleader action as the total settlement sum of $16,141.16. The motion clarified that DSE had a statutory lien for its attorney fees and costs, and, therefore, the amount at issue was the remainder of the settlement total after the deduction of those fees and costs. Accordingly, the amended complaint reduced the amount at issue from $16,141.16 to $8,381.31. Other than the amended dollar amount, the amended complaint was identical to the original.

¶ 15 In response to the amended complaint, MLM filed an "answer to amended complaint for interpleader." With the exception of the change in the dollar amount from $16,141.16 to $8,381.31, the answer to the amended complaint and the affirmative defenses were identical to MLM's original answer. However, the answer to the amended complaint omitted the counterclaims which MLM had pleaded in the original answer.

¶ 16 After MLM answered the amended complaint, the parties nonetheless continued to litigate the underlying merits of the interpleader *803action and the counterclaims.

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411 P.3d 798, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mullins-v-med-lien-mgmt-inc-coloctapp-2013.