Phoenix Baptist Hospital & Medical Center, Inc. v. Aiken

877 P.2d 1345, 179 Ariz. 289, 170 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 8, 1994 Ariz. App. LEXIS 147
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJuly 26, 1994
Docket1 CA-CV 91-0657
StatusPublished
Cited by70 cases

This text of 877 P.2d 1345 (Phoenix Baptist Hospital & Medical Center, Inc. v. Aiken) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Phoenix Baptist Hospital & Medical Center, Inc. v. Aiken, 877 P.2d 1345, 179 Ariz. 289, 170 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 8, 1994 Ariz. App. LEXIS 147 (Ark. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

*291 WEISBERG, Judge.

OPINION

Thomas and Patricia Aiken (“defendants”) appeal from the portion of the trial court’s judgment finding that Thomas’ separate property is liable for health care expenses incurred by his wife because of an agreement he signed. For the reasons stated below, we reverse this portion of the judgment and remand for trial on this issue.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Patricia was hospitalized at Phoenix Baptist Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. (“the hospital”). When the hospital did not receive payment of its bill, it filed suit seeking judgment not only against Patricia, personally, and against the marital community, but also against Thomas, personally, because of an alleged agreement on his part to pay the charges.

The hospital filed a motion for summary judgment relying on certain documents it purported to attach to the motion as Exhibits A and B. The hospital also submitted the affidavit of its Vice-President of Finance, Larry Haggerty, explaining that Exhibit A was the agreement in which defendants agreed to pay ordinary charges for hospitalization and medical care, and that Exhibit B was an agreement to pay finance charges on all outstanding charges.

In response, defendants asserted that the hospital had produced nothing showing that Thomas had agreed to pay the underlying medical charges because Exhibit A did not contain his signature. Exhibit B, they continued, which appeared to show his signature, merely pertained to the payment of interest on certain outpatient services.

In reply, the hospital’s counsel indicated that the second page of Exhibit A, which included the financial agreement with Thomas’ apparent signature, had inadvertently been left off. He indicated that a complete copy of Exhibit A was being attached to the reply.

The missing page, which was attached to the reply, contained boiler-plate provisions including one entitled “Financial Agreement.” It provided in relevant part:

The undersigned agrees (whether signing as agent, representative, or as patient, and whether or not insured or a member of a health maintenance organization) that, in consideration of the services to be rendered to the patient, he or she is hereby individually obligated to pay the account of the hospital in accordance with the regular rates and terms of the hospital unless otherwise agreed in writing by the hospital corporation.
Should the hospital account be referred for collection, the undersigned agrees to pay reasonable collection expenses, counsel fees, and court costs ...

The page contained the signature of “Thomas F. Aiken” on a blank line that appeared above wording describing the signer as a “[pjerson authorized to sign for patient.”

In its reply, the hospital also raised a new argument that a spouse is legally responsible for the necessary medical expenses incurred by the other spouse, even in the absence of any written agreement, pursuant to Ariz.Rev. Stat.Ann. (“A.R.S.”) section 13-3611. After hearing oral argument on the motion for summary judgment, the trial court asked for supplemental memoranda on this newly-raised issue of statutory liability.

The trial court ultimately determined that, as a matter of law, the community property of defendants and the separate property of each of them were liable for Patricia’s reasonable medical bills. It found that Thomas’ separate property was liable because of the agreement he had signed, but rejected the hospital’s contention that Thomas’ separate property was liable pursuant to A.R.S. section 13-3611. The trial court, however, held that the reasonableness of the hospital’s charges could not be determined on summary judgment. It therefore set that issue for trial.

Notwithstanding, the parties later stipulated to allow judgment to be entered against defendants’ marital community, and against each of them, separately, for the amount alleged by the hospital. The stipulation ex *292 pressly reserved defendants’ right to contest Thomas’ separate liability.

After the stipulated judgment was entered, defendants filed a motion to reconsider that issue pursuant to Rule 59 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure. Accompanying the motion to reconsider were their affidavits in which they testified to the following facts:

On November 1, 1989, Patricia suffered a heart attack that prompted a 911 call for emergency assistance. Despite their request that she be taken to Maricopa County Medical Center because of her lack of funds to pay for medical treatment, Patricia was taken to Phoenix Baptist Hospital. Thomas was present at the hospital emergency room when his wife was admitted. He was so upset over his wife’s condition that he could not recall signing the documents referred to in the Larry Haggerty affidavit as Exhibits A and B. In any event, he did not read the documents and could not have read them without his reading glasses, which he did not have with him that day. Also, no one explained the documents to Thomas and, even if someone had explained them to him, he would have been too upset to understand the implications of signing them.

In their motion to reconsider, defendants pointed out that they had not previously provided their affidavit testimony because, until two days before oral argument, they had not been presented with proof that Thomas had signed a financial agreement. They further asserted that they had not addressed these matters in their supplemental memorandum because the trial court had directed briefing only on the A.R.S. section 13-3611 issue.

The trial court denied defendants’ motion to reconsider. This appeal concerning the liability of Thomas’ separate property followed.

DISCUSSION

A Sufficiency of the Attached Documents

Defendants first argue that the hospital was not entitled to summary judgment because it failed to establish by admissible evidence that Thomas had signed the agreement to pay his wife’s medical expenses. They assert that the affidavit of Larry Hag-gerty was without sufficient foundation because Haggerty did not personally witness Thomas’ signature. They also object to the fact that no affidavit accompanied the hospital’s reply which included the previously omitted page of the agreement, purportedly bearing Thomas’ signature.

Summary judgment is appropriate when the record shows there is no real dispute as to any material facts and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Orme School v. Reeves, 166 Ariz. 301, 309, 802 P.2d 1000, 1008 (1990). The party seeking judgment has the burden of satisfying this standard and demonstrating both the absence of any factual conflict and his or her right to judgment. United Bank v. Allyn, 167 Ariz. 191, 195, 805 P.2d 1012, 1016 (App.1990). We review the grant of summary judgment on the basis of the record made in the trial court, but determine whether the entry of judgment was proper de novo. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
877 P.2d 1345, 179 Ariz. 289, 170 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 8, 1994 Ariz. App. LEXIS 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/phoenix-baptist-hospital-medical-center-inc-v-aiken-arizctapp-1994.