Rocco v. Department of Mental Health

319 N.W.2d 674, 114 Mich. App. 792
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 6, 1982
DocketDocket 55334
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 319 N.W.2d 674 (Rocco v. Department of Mental Health) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rocco v. Department of Mental Health, 319 N.W.2d 674, 114 Mich. App. 792 (Mich. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinions

M. J. Kelly, J.

On January 7, 1980, plaintiffs’ decedent, Daniel Rocco, was a resident patient of the Ypsilanti Regional Psychiatric Hospital (hospital). That night, while he was sleeping in his hospital bed, Rocco was murdered by another pa[795]*795tient. The murderer was Andrew Higginbotham, a patient who had a history of violence and assaultive behavior.

Plaintiffs filed a complaint in the Court of Claims against two state agencies (the Department of Social Services and the Department of Mental Health) which supervise the administration of the hospital, and the hospital. The state agencies and hospital are hereinafter referred to as defendants. The complaint consisted of two counts. Count I alleged negligence in that defendants failed to take steps to protect the decedent from attack by violent patients in the hospital. Specifically, plaintiffs alleged that defendants breached their duty of care and committed malpractice in that they were aware of Higginbotham’s violent and criminal tendencies, yet placed him unrestrained and unsupervised in the same ward with the decedent. Count II alleged breach of implied contract, averring that plaintiffs agreed to and did in fact pay for the care and treatment of the decedent but that defendants breached their contractual duty by failing to protect the decedent from harm and abuse by other patients at the hospital.

Defendants brought a motion for summary judgment, GCR 1963, 117.2(1), claiming immunity from suit under MCL 691.1407; MSA 3.996(107). Defendants urged that they were immune from the tort claim embodied in Count I. They further contended that Count II, alleging breach of implied contract, should be dismissed because it merely restated Count I’s claim of negligence. Plaintiffs responded that MCL 330.1722; MSA 14.800(722), 1974 PA 258, creates an exception from immunity because it expressly authorizes abused mental patients to pursue "appropriate civil relief’.

On December 5, 1980, after hearing argument, [796]*796the trial court issued its opinion from the bench, granting the motion for summary judgment and dismissing the complaint. An order to that effect was entered the same day. Plaintiffs appeal from that order as of right, GCR 1963, 806.1.

Motions for summary judgment under GCR 1963, 117.2(1) are to be tested by the pleadings alone. Todd v Biglow, 51 Mich App 346, 349; 214 NW2d 733 (1974), lv den 391 Mich 816 (1974). The motion tests the legal basis of the complaint, not whether it can be factually supported. Partrich v Muscat, 84 Mich App 724, 729; 270 NW2d 506 (1978) . This Court assumes as true the plaintiffs’ factual allegations as well as any conclusions reasonably drawn therefrom. Rubino v Sterling Heights, 94 Mich App 494, 497; 290 NW2d 43 (1979) . Unless the claim is so clearly unenforceable as a matter of law that no factual development can possibly justify a right to recover, the motion under GCR 1963, 117.2(1) should be denied. Id.

I

Initially, plaintiffs argue that the trial court erred when it found that defendants were protected by governmental immunity. MCL 691.1407; MSA 3.996(107) reads:

"Except as in this act otherwise provided, all governmental agencies shall be immune from tort liability in all cases wherein the government agency is engaged in the exercise or discharge of a governmental function. Except as otherwise provided herein, this act shall not be construed as modifying or restricting the immunity of the state from tort liability as it existed heretofore, which immunity is affirmed.”

The operation of a state mental hospital is a governmental function; therefore the hospital is [797]*797immune from liability in actions alleging negligence. Perry v Kalamazoo State Hospital, 404 Mich 205, 212, 214; 273 NW2d 421 (1978), app dis 444 US 804 (1979), Fuhrmann v Hattaway, 109 Mich App 429; 311 NW2d 379 (1981), Allen v Dep’t of Mental Health, 79 Mich App 170, 173; 261 NW2d 247 (1977).

However, plaintiffs claim that MCL 330.1722; MSA 14.800(722) abolishes governmental immunity where a patient in a mental hospital is abused. The statute states:

"(1) A recipient of mental health services shall not be physically, sexually, or otherwise abused.
"(2) The governing body of each facility shall adopt written policies and procedures designed to protect recipients of mental health services from abuse and to prevent the repetition of acts of abuse. The policies and procedures shall more particularly define abuse, shall provide a mechanism for discovering instances of abuse and for reviewing all charges of abuse, shall ensure that firm and appropriate disciplinary action is taken against those who have engaged in abuse, and shall contain those additional provisions deemed appropriate by the governing body.
"(3) A facility shall cooperate in the prosecution of appropriate criminal charges against those who have engaged in unlawful abuse.
"(4) Any recipient of mental health services physically, sexually, or otherwise abused shall have a right to pursue injunctive and other appropriate civil relief.”

According to plaintiffs, subsection (4) of the statute repeals the governmental immunity of a state mental hospital where the patient has been abused.

Repeals by implication are not favored in the law. Flynn v City of Fraser, 45 Mich App 346, 349-350; 206 NW2d 448 (1973). To establish a repeal by [798]*798implication, a clear legislative intent to repeal must be demonstrated. Ziehn v State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins Co, 88 Mich App 576, 583; 278 NW2d 678 (1979). The burden of establishing the repeal is on the party claiming repeal. Flynn, supra, 350. MCL 330.1722; MSA 14.800(722) does not contain any words of repeal and does not evidence an intent to repeal MCL 691.1407; MSA 3.996(107).

Plaintiffs also argue that MCL 330.1722; MSA 14.800(722) was enacted to prevent patient abuse in mental hospitals. According to plaintiffs, the statute was intended to place patient abuse outside the realm of governmental function as that term is used in MCL 691.1407; MSA 3.996(107).

The cardinal rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of the Legislature. White v Ann Arbor, 406 Mich 554, 562; 281 NW2d 283 (1979), May v Leneair, 99 Mich App 209, 215; 297 NW2d 882 (1980). The legislative intent must be determined from considering all the provisions of the statute in question. Braden v Spencer, 100 Mich App 523, 530; 299 NW2d 65 (1980). The provision in question is to be considered in light of the general purpose sought to be accomplished or the evil sought to be remedied by the statute. White, supra, 562.

MCL 330.1700 et seq.; MSA 14.800(700) et seq., enumerates certain rights possessed by recipients of mental health services. The statute’s purpose is to ensure that patients are treated in a humane manner and that their privacy is maintained. The statute focuses on the duty of the health care facility towards its patients. None of the sections discusses the rights and responsibilities between patients. The statute’s primary purpose is to protect the patient from certain abuses by the mental [799]*799health facility or its staff.

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Rocco v. Department of Mental Health
319 N.W.2d 674 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1982)

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Bluebook (online)
319 N.W.2d 674, 114 Mich. App. 792, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rocco-v-department-of-mental-health-michctapp-1982.