Wigington v. State Home & Training School

486 P.2d 417, 175 Colo. 159, 1971 Colo. LEXIS 805
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedJune 21, 1971
DocketNo. 23392
StatusPublished

This text of 486 P.2d 417 (Wigington v. State Home & Training School) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wigington v. State Home & Training School, 486 P.2d 417, 175 Colo. 159, 1971 Colo. LEXIS 805 (Colo. 1971).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Groves

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Representatives of two estates are here as plaintiffs in error. Involved are a claim of the State Home and Training School at Grand Junction, Colorado (called State Home) against the Wigington estate and a claim of the Colorado State Hospital (called State Hospital) against the Lanzendorfer estate. The claims were consolidated for hearing in the district court, and after each was allowed, a single writ of error was sued out from the two determinations of the trial court. The principal argument of the representatives of the estates is that certain statutes are unconstitutional. Two other assignments of error, which are without merit, also have been presented and will be mentioned briefly later. We affirm as to the constitutional questions; and as to the Lanzendorfer estate we affirm as to all particulars. By reason of matters apparently not considered — or at least not seriously considered— by both the trial court and counsel on both sides, we must reverse and remand as to the claim against the Wigington estate.

LANZENDORFER ESTATE

In 1954 Lanzendorfer was adjudicated a mental incompetent and committed to the State Hospital. He was discharged from the hospital on September 29, 1964. From the time of his commitment until May 1, 1964, the charges for which his estate was billed by the State Hospital were fixed under the authority of C.R.S. 1963, 71-1-16 and 17, which are referred to as the older statute. On May 1, 1964, 1965 Perm. Supp., C.R.S. 1963, 71-7-1 et seq. became effective. This enactment, referred to as the newer statute, repealed the older statute.

■ Under the older statute the estate of a committed [162]*162person was made liable for the claims of the State Hospital for care and maintenance “equal to the cost per capita per month of care and treatment of other patients in said institution.” The statute provides for collection of claims to be made under actions instituted and prosecuted by the attorney general.

The newer statute provides that, when any mentally ill or mentally deficient person is committed to any public institution supervised by the department of institutions, there “shall be assessed against the said person or his relatives ... all or such part of such cost as they are respectively able to pay . . .” The newer statute further provides that the department of institutions shall determine the ability to pay by consideration of net taxable income, age, number of dependents and their ages, mental and physical condition, length of care and treatment, assets and liabilities. The determination is to be made according to schedules contained in published rules adopted in accordance with the provisions of the Colorado Administrative Code (C.R.S. 1963, 3-16-1 et seq.) The statute provides for appeals to a court of record.

Until the end of 1964 the State Hospital billed the Lanzendorfer estate for a monthly charge of $95, the maximum charge during the period, and the conservators paid these charges. On January 1, 1964, the charge was increased to $258 a month, which the department of institutions had set as the new maximum charge. After the newer statute became effective, it was determined that under its provisions the estate was able to pay this amount, based on available assets of a value of $21,427.52. The conservators made one payment of $258 and then, as the smiles of My Last Duchess, there were no more payments.

I. .

The Lanzendorfer estate argues that both the older statute and the newer statute are violative of Colo. Const., art. II, §5, which reads, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process [163]*163of law.” No authority has been cited to us which holds that a similar statute is unconstitutional as violative of due process. In addition to indulging in the presumption of constitutionality until demonstrated otherwise, the Attorney General has cited Beach v. Government of District of Columbia, 320 F.2d 790 (1963), which is authority for the proposition that the statutes under consideration do not violate constitutional “due process.” In addition, while not directly in point, we find an inference in Colorado v. Estate of Burnell, 165 Colo. 205, 439 P.2d 38 (1968), and in Estate of Randall v. Colorado State Hospital, 166 Colo. 1, 441 P.2d 153 (1968), that these statutes comport with necessary due process.

Our determination as to due process is limited to the statute subjecting the assets of the Lanzendorfer estate to payment for care at the State Hospital. We do not consider due process under C.R.S. 1963, 71-1-15, which provided for a determination by the county judge of the ability of relatives or next of kin of the committed person to pay for his or her care. As will be seen later we do not regard this as a proper issue in the Wigington estate. Hence, Board of Administration v. Miles, 278 Ill. 174, 115 N.E. 841 (1917), which has been cited, is not applicable.

II.

Another argument presented is that the statutes violate the equal protection provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. The cases cited by the estates, which involve liability for institutional care, all concern the responsibility of relatives of the inmate and none involve liability of the inmate himself or his estate. Accordingly, we are unable to see any equal protection problem with respect to the assets of Lanzendorfer, the person confined. Upon further hearing in the Wigington estate, the administrators may wish to raise this, as well as other, constitutional questions.

III.

A further constitutional argument is that the [164]*164statutes violate Colo. Const., art. VIII, §1 which provides that certain institutions, including those for the benefit of the insane, “shall be established and supported by the state, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.” Also cited is the provision of C.R.S. 1963, 71-3-3 which states that all persons adjudged to be insane “are hereby made wards of the state of Colorado.” Under the authority of Board of Comm’rs. v. State, 122 Okla. 268, 254 P. 710 (1927), it is argued that by virtue of the constitutional provision the state must pay all the expense of the care of its wards as defined by the statute just mentioned, and that it cannot charge the estate of the ward nor its relatives for such care. We prefer rather to follow the contrary view of State v. Glenn, 60 Ariz. 22, 131 P.2d 363 (1942); and State v. Johnson, 50 Idaho 363, 296 P.588 (1931). We hold that this constitutional provision does not prevent collection for expenses of care.

IV.

The Lanzendorfer estate argues that the statutes are unconstitutional as being violative of Colo. Const., art. II, §3 (relating to inalienable rights) and art. V, §25 (special legislation). We find no merit in these arguments.

V.

The Lanzendorfer estate sought to introduce in evidence a letter from the State Hospital to counsel for the estate dated September 15, 1964.

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Related

Estate of Randall v. Colorado State Hospital
441 P.2d 153 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1968)
Colorado v. Estate of Burnell
439 P.2d 38 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1968)
State Ex Rel. Cromwell v. Panzeri
280 P.2d 1064 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1955)
State of Arizona v. Glenn
131 P.2d 363 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1942)
State Ex Rel. MacEy v. Johnson
296 P. 588 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1931)
Board of Com'rs of Logan County v. State
1927 OK 40 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1927)
Board of Administration v. Miles
115 N.E. 841 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1917)

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Bluebook (online)
486 P.2d 417, 175 Colo. 159, 1971 Colo. LEXIS 805, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wigington-v-state-home-training-school-colo-1971.