PM Management-Trinity NC, LLC v. Kumets

368 S.W.3d 711, 2012 WL 1403326, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 3197
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 20, 2012
DocketNo. 03-11-00313-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 368 S.W.3d 711 (PM Management-Trinity NC, LLC v. Kumets) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
PM Management-Trinity NC, LLC v. Kumets, 368 S.W.3d 711, 2012 WL 1403326, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 3197 (Tex. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

OPINION

J. WOODFIN JONES, Chief Justice.

In this accelerated interlocutory appeal, appellant PM Management-Trinity NC, LLC d/b/a Trinity Care Center (“Trinity”), a defendant below, and cross-appellants Michael Kumets, Pavel Kumets, and Strul Kumets, individually and as next friend for Yevgeniya Kumets (collectively “the Ku-metses”), plaintiffs below, challenge the trial court’s orders granting in part and denying in part the defendants’ motions to dismiss the Kumetses’ claims pursuant to section 74.351 of the Texas Medical Liability Act (TMLA). See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 74.351(b) (West 2011); see also id. § 51.014(a)(9) (West 2008) (permitting interlocutory appeal from trial court’s ruling under section 74.351). We will affirm the trial court’s judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This appeal arises from a suit between the Kumetses as plaintiffs and a group of health-care providers and physicians as defendants. Trinity is a nursing home where Yevgeniya Kumets was a resident from November 21, 2007 through January 20, 2009. Cross-appellee Trisun Healthcare, L.L.C. (“Trisun”) provided nursing home management services to Trinity, and cross-appellee Brian Threadgill was employed as Trinity’s licensed nursing-home administrator. The Kumetses alleged that Yevgeniya was admitted to Trinity to recover from a stroke. As pleaded by the Kumetses, Yevgeniya suffered a second debilitating stroke as a result of negligent treatment she received at Trinity. In their live pleading, the Kumetses asserted causes of action against Trinity for medical negligence, negligence per se, and gross negligence; negligent hiring, supervision, management, and retention; breach of fiduciary duty; breach of contract; violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act; and fraud/negligent misrepresentation. In a discrete section of their petition, the Ku-metses also asserted against Trinity a claim for retaliation, alleging that Trinity illegally discharged Yevgeniya from the nursing home as a result of complaints made by the Kumetses. The Kumetses also alleged causes of action against Trisun [714]*714and Threadgill for fraud/negligent misrepresentation and violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, but not retaliation.

Pursuant to civil practice and remedies code section 74.351, the Kumetses served Trinity, Trisun, and Threadgill with an expert report addressing all but the retaliation claim. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 74.351(a) (expert report requirement in health care liability claims). The report did not mention Threadgill or Trisun. Trinity, Trisun, and Threadgill moved to dismiss the claims asserted against them on the ground that they were all health-care-liability claims and that the Kumetses’ expert report was deficient as to Trinity and was no report at all as to Trisun and Threadgill. The trial court found that the report was deficient and gave the Kumetses a 30-day extension to cure the deficiencies. See id. § 74.351(c) (permitting court to grant one 30-day extension to cure deficient report). After the Kumetses filed an amended report, Trinity, Trisun, and Threadgill each filed a second motion to dismiss. See id. § 74.351(b). After a second hearing, the trial court signed three orders: (1) an order stating that all the claims the Ku-metses asserted against Trinity were health-care-liability claims except for the retaliation claim and, because the amended expert report was deficient as to all healthcare-liability claims, dismissing all claims asserted against Trinity except for the retaliation claim; (2) a second order dismissing all claims asserted against Trisun; and (3) a third order dismissing all claims asserted against Threadgill. Trinity has appealed the trial court’s order, arguing in three issues that the Kumetses’ retaliation claim is a health-care-liability claim and that the trial court erred in denying its motion to dismiss that claim pursuant to section 74.351. The Kumetses filed a cross-appeal, contending in one issue that their claims against Trinity, Trisun, and Threadgill for fraudulent billing were not health-care-liability claims and that the trial court erred in granting the motions to dismiss those claims pursuant to section 74.351. The Kumetses do not complain in their cross-appeal about the trial court’s ruling that the amended expert report was deficient as to their health-care-liability claims.

DISCUSSION

We generally review a trial court’s order granting or denying a motion to dismiss pursuant to section 74.351(b) under an abuse-of-discretion standard. See Bowie Mem’l Hosp. v. Wright, 79 S.W.3d 48, 52 (Tex.2002). However, when the issue presented involves the applicability of chapter 74 to the plaintiffs claims and requires interpretation of the statute, we apply a de novo standard of review. See Drewery v. Adventist Health Sys./Tex., Inc., 344 S.W.3d 498, 501-02 (Tex.App.-Austin 2011, pet. filed) (citing Marks v. St. Luke's Episcopal Hosp., 319 S.W.3d 658, 663 (Tex.2010) (plurality op.)).

The Kumetses’ live pleading included claims for medical negligence, negligence per se, and gross negligence; breach of fiduciary duty; breach of contract; negligent hiring, supervision, management, and retention; violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act; and fraud/negligent misrepresentation. Each of these causes of action arose out of the care and treatment Yevgeniya received while a patient at Trinity. For example, the allegations supporting the negligence claims included that Yevgeniya was (1) dropped during a transfer from the bathtub; (2) infected while being administered intravenous antibiotics, resulting in infections and rashes; (3) left unsupervised and allowed to incur substantial bruising; and (4) not properly hydrated. The Kumetses asserted that Yevgeni-ya suffered a stroke as the result of poor [715]*715dietary routines and unmonitored medication levels. They alleged that the adverse results of the stroke were exacerbated by her being left unattended and that, as a consequence, she is unable to speak, eat, or bathe without assistance. The Ku-metses alleged that these and other described negligent acts caused personal and emotional injury, physical impairment, pecuniary loss, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of quality of life. In their breach-of-fiduciary-duty claim, the Kumetses alleged that Trinity, as Yevgeni-ya’s “health services provider,” owed her a duty to treat her in a manner that encouraged and fostered her best interests and well-being but instead failed to adequately care for her. The Kumetses’ breach-of-contract claim asserted that Trinity failed to provide the services and qualified staff required by the contract between the parties and were negligent in performing their duties under the contract. The allegations supporting the fraud/negligent-misrepresentation claim included that Trinity, Trisun, and Threadgill: (1) misrepresented the services Trinity provides, including making incorrect statements about the quality, quantity, and ratio of licensed nurses and professionally trained personnel; and (2) submitted fraudulent claims for Medicaid reimbursement for services they did not provide.

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Bluebook (online)
368 S.W.3d 711, 2012 WL 1403326, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 3197, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pm-management-trinity-nc-llc-v-kumets-texapp-2012.