Ross v. City of Las Cruces

2010 NMCA 015, 229 P.3d 1253, 148 N.M. 81
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 21, 2009
Docket28,619
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 2010 NMCA 015 (Ross v. City of Las Cruces) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ross v. City of Las Cruces, 2010 NMCA 015, 229 P.3d 1253, 148 N.M. 81 (N.M. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

VANZI, Judge.

{1} Appellant Michael Ross (Plaintiff), as Personal Representative of the Estate of Alvin Moore (Moore), filed a complaint for wrongful death against Appellees Mesilla Valley Hospital (MVH), Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (PSI), and Georgina C. Herrera, M.D., (collectively Defendants) after Moore was killed in an auto accident caused by Carlos Preciado (Preciado). Preciado had recently been discharged from Defendants’ cai'e.

{2} Defendants moved for summary judgment, asserting that they did not owe a duty of care to Moore. The district court granted Defendants’ motion, stating that: (1) the likelihood of injury to Moore from Defendants’ actions was too remote to warrant a finding that Defendants had a duty of care to Moore; (2) public policy considerations, legislative limitations, and the reasoning of this and other jurisdictions argue against extending such a duty; and (3) the injuries suffered by Moore were not foreseeable consequences of the breach of any duty Defendants may have had. Plaintiff appeals that decision. We affirm the district court.

BACKGROUND

{3} The following facts are undisputed. On July 25, 2005, Moore was struck and killed by an automobile driven by Preciado as Moore was attempting to cross a street in downtown Las Cruces. Preciado was driving a vehicle he had recently stolen and was engaged in a high-speed chase with Las Cruces police officers.

{4} At the time of the accident, Preciado was twenty-four years old and had an extensive history of psychiatric illness. In 2001, Preciado attacked his sister with a whiskey bottle, after which the court referred him to Memorial Medical Center for a thirty-day psychiatric evaluation. Memorial Medical Center doctors found Preciado incompetent to stand trial for the assault because of his psychotic symptoms, and he was transferred to Las Vegas Medical Center (LVMC) for treatment. Preciado responded well to a combination of anti-psychotie medications at LVMC and was discharged home. Following his discharge, Preciado was seen on an outpatient basis by Southwest Counseling Center in Las Cruces. When he returned from LVMC, Preciado was compliant with his medications and was doing well.

{5} However, in 2003, Preciado decided he was cured and became non-compliant with his medications. Preciado had been repeatedly charged with crimes and had numerous encounters with mental health care providers and the police. In January 2005, he was charged in El Paso County,- Texas, with obstruction or retaliation under the Texas Penal Code. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 36.06 (2003). Preciado initially pled guilty to the charge but subsequently withdrew his plea and was returned to New Mexico.

{6} Approximately three months after the El Paso incident, on April 22, 2005, Preciado was charged in Las Cruces Municipal Court with misdemeanor assault on a family member. On that date, Preciado was at his parents’ store, talking to himself, stating that he was the Lone Ranger, and stating that no one could touch him. Preciado suddenly started swinging his fists at his mother and, when she attempted to run away from him, Preciado tackled her, knocking her to the ground and shattering her front teeth. At a competency hearing in Las Cruces District Court on July 8, 2005, the City of Las Cruces stipulated to the dismissal of charges against Preciado based on his ineompetency to stand trial. On that basis, the district court entered an order to remand the case back to municipal court for dismissal of the charges. At the hearing, the State intervened to seek an evaluation of Preciado regarding whether he should be civilly committed and informed the court that it had “secured a bed for ... Preciado” at MVH. An order to transport was entered, directing the Doña Ana County Detention Center Transport officers to transport Preciado to MVH.

{7} That afternoon, Preciado checked into MVH with an admitting diagnosis of psychotic disorder. The evaluation at MVH was performed by Dr. Herrera who understood that Preciado “was referred to [MVH] for evaluation and treatment.” Preciado was in MVH’s care for five days and, on July 13, 2005, he was discharged. The discharge summary states that he was medication-compliant and “[n]eat, clean, alert, and oriented in all spheres.” Dr. Herrera scheduled an outpatient follow-up appointment for Preciado with Southwest Counseling Center for the day following his release from MVH. Twelve days after his discharge, the accident occurred.

{8} Plaintiff argues on appeal that the district court erred in granting Defendants’ motion for summary judgment because Defendants owed Moore a duty of care as a matter of law, and the risk of harm to persons like him was foreseeable as a matter of law. More specifically, Plaintiff argues that Defendants owed Moore a statutory duty of reasonable care in evaluating and discharging Preciado and that Defendants owed Moore a common law duty of care to control Preciado because there was a “special relationship” between Defendants and Preciado.

DISCUSSION

Standard of Review

{9} “Summary judgment is properly granted where there is no genuine issue of material fact and where the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Johnstone v. City of Albuquerque, 2006-NMCA-119, ¶ 5, 140 N.M. 596, 145 P.3d 76. “An appeal from the grant of a motion for summary judgment presents a question of law and is reviewed de novo.” Montgomery v. Lomos Altos, Inc., 2007-NMSC-002, ¶ 16, 141 N.M. 21, 150 P.3d 971 (2006). “When the moving party makes a prima facie showing that summary judgment is proper, the party opposing summary judgment has the burden to show specific evidentiary facts in the form of admissible evidence that require a trial on the merits.” Estate of Eric S. Haar v. Ulwelling, 2007-NMCA-032, ¶ 10, 141 N.M. 252, 154 P.3d 67. “Mere argument or bare contention offered by the opposing party that a material issue of fact exists cannot override the moving party’s prima facie showing.” Id.

Duty

{10} The elements of a negligence claim are (1) the existence of a duty running from the defendant to the plaintiff; (2) a breach of that duty based on a reasonable care standard; and (3) the breach of duty is both the proximate and in-fact cause of the plaintiffs damages. Herrera v. Quality Pontiac, 2003-NMSC-018, ¶ 6, 134 N.M. 43, 73 P.3d 181. Whether the defendant owes a duty to the plaintiff is a question of law to be determined by the court. Id. A duty of care can be based on either a statutory or common law duty. Spencer v. Health Force, Inc., 2005-NMSC-002, ¶ 11, 137 N.M. 64, 107 P.3d 504. Using these principles as the foundation for our analysis, we address each of Plaintiffs arguments in turn.

Statutory Duty of Medical Professionals to Third Persons

{11} Plaintiff first argues that Defendants had a statutory duty of care to Moore under NMSA 1978, Section 43-1-1 (1999), of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Act. Plaintiff argues that this statute was the authority under which the court ordered Preciado to be transported to MVH for evaluation and that under this statute, Defendant had a duty to return Preciado to the facilities of the court after the evaluation. We disagree.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2010 NMCA 015, 229 P.3d 1253, 148 N.M. 81, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ross-v-city-of-las-cruces-nmctapp-2009.