ZMC Pharmacy, LLC v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.

307 F. Supp. 3d 661
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedMarch 29, 2018
DocketCase No. 16–cv–10508
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 307 F. Supp. 3d 661 (ZMC Pharmacy, LLC v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ZMC Pharmacy, LLC v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 307 F. Supp. 3d 661 (E.D. Mich. 2018).

Opinion

PAUL D. BORMAN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This case involves various parties' claims for the payment of no-fault insurance benefits stemming from an August 19, 2014 motor vehicle accident in which a car driven by Tamika R. Burrell, the original Plaintiff in this action, was struck in the rear by a hit and run driver and sustained *664accidental bodily injuries. Intervenor Plaintiff ZMC Pharmacy, LLC ("ZMC"), the only remaining plaintiff, provided services and/or products to Ms. Burrell allegedly related to her August 19, 2014 automobile accident. ZMC intervened in this action attempting to recover no-fault insurance benefits from Defendant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ("State Farm") for the products/services it provided to Ms. Burrell. State Farm now moves for summary judgment based on the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in Covenant Medical Center, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. , 500 Mich. 191, 895 N.W.2d 490 (2017), which established that medical providers such as ZMC do not have a statutory claim under the Michigan No-Fault Act to recover personal protection insurance benefits from no-fault insurers. (ECF No. 24, Motion for "Summary Judgment".) ZMC filed a Response (ECF No. 26) and State Farm filed a Reply (ECF No. 27). For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS State Farm's motion and DISMISSES Plaintiff's Complaint WITH PREJUDICE.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Procedural History

Ms. Burrell originally filed her claims in Wayne County Circuit Court on or about September 3, 2015. On or about November 18, 2015, ZMC, an entity that claims to have provided Plaintiff with products and services (pharmaceuticals) related to her care and recovery from the August 19, 2014 accident, sought to intervene in the state court action and filed an Intervening Complaint in that court on November 18, 2015. ZMC's Intervenor Complaint claimed a right to payment from State Farm under the Michigan No-Fault statute based upon services/products (pharmaceuticals) rendered to Ms. Burrell between September 22, 2015 to October 30, 2017, allegedly in connection with her August 19, 2014 motor vehicle accident. On February 11, 2016, Defendant State Farm removed the case to this Court, based upon diversity jurisdiction, after Burrell filed an amended complaint in state court on or about February 4, 2016, adding a claim for uninsured motorist benefits up to the policy limits of $50,000. The newly asserted claim for uninsured motorist benefits, when combined with Plaintiff's original claim of damages in excess of $25,000, resulted in an amount in controversy in excess of $75,000. (ECF No. 1, Notice of Removal ¶¶ 2-15, Exs. 5, 6.) Intervenor Plaintiff MMT Integrative Services, Inc. ("MMT"), an entity that claims to have provided Plaintiff with products and services (physical therapy) related to her care and recovery from the August 19, 2014 accident, was granted permission to intervene by this Court and filed an Intervenor Complaint in this Court on June 21, 2016. (ECF Nos. 10, 12.) On July 19, 2017, both Ms. Burrell and MMT were dismissed from this action by Stipulated Order of Dismissal after participating in a state court case evaluation proceeding and accepting their respective awards. (ECF Nos. 22, 23.) Intervening Plaintiff ZMC participated in the case evaluation process, but did not accept an award or dismiss its claims against State Farm.

B. Factual Background

On August 19, 2014, Ms. Burrell was involved in a motor vehicle accident in which she sustained accidental bodily injuries. Ms. Burrell was insured with Defendant State Farm under a no-fault insurance policy at the time of the accident. (ECF No. 1, Notice of Removal Ex. E, Amended Compl. ¶¶ 14, 16.) Ms. Burrell was struck in the rear of her vehicle by a hit and run driver, pushing her into the vehicle in front of her, and seeks uninsured motorist benefits in the amount of the policy limits of $50,000. (Id. ¶ 17.) Ms. Burrell *665claims to have suffered permanent disfigurement that has affected her ability to lead a normal life, specifically but not limited to post-concussion syndrome, disc herniation at multiple levels compressing the thecal sac, myofascial syndrome in the spine, closed head injury, cervical and lumbar radiculopathy, anxiety, and depression. (Id. ¶ 21.) Ms. Burrell also claims to have lost wages and suffered diminished earning capacity, as well as having incurred economic expenses and medical expenses. (Id. ¶¶ 22-23.)

Intervenor Plaintiff ZMC claims to have provided products and services to Ms. Burrell in the amount of $8,685.71, which were reasonable and necessary products and services for Ms. Burrell's care and recovery, and to have incurred all reasonable charges for those products and services. (ECF No. 1, Notice of Removal Ex. 6, ZMC Intervening Complaint ¶ 7.) ZMC claims in its Intervening Complaint that State Farm has failed to pay for the outstanding $8,685.71, in violation of the Michigan No-Fault Act. (Id. ¶ 12.) ZMC now claims to have incurred a total of $221,260.09 in unpaid charges for pharmaceuticals provided to Ms. Burrell beginning on September 22, 2015 and continuing through May 8, 2017. Because the unpaid no-fault benefits are overdue, ZMC claims entitlement to interest at the rate of 12% per annum and reasonable attorney fees, both as provided under the Michigan No-Fault statute.

On February 2, 2017, the parties to this action stipulated to submit the matter to State Court Case Evaluation. (ECF No. 20.) On May 9, 2017, a case evaluation hearing was held in state court. Plaintiff Burrell and Intervening Plaintiff MMT accepted the case evaluation awards and dismissed their claims against State Farm on July 19, 2017, pursuant to stipulated orders of dismissal. (ECF Nos. 22, 23.) Intervenor Plaintiff ZMC participated in, but did not accept, the case evaluation award and did not dismiss its claims against State Farm.1

On July 27, 2017, State Farm filed this motion to dismiss ZMC's claims against it based upon Covenant , which established that medical providers such as ZMC do not have a statutory cause of action under the Michigan No-Fault Act to recover personal protection insurance benefits from no-fault insurers. ZMC responded that Covenant left open a healthcare provider's right to proceed against an insurer based upon an assignment of rights from an insured. ZMC argues that it has obtained such an assignment from Ms. Burrell, dated June 12, 2017, which ZMC claims entitles it to recover payment from State Farm for pharmaceuticals provided to Burrell, allegedly in connection with her August 19, 2014 motor vehicle accident, from September 22, 2015 through May 8, 2017, which totals $221,260.09. State Farm disputes both the validity of the June 12, 2017 Assignment and its timeliness with respect to ZMC's claims.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

State Farm would do well to study Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

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Bluebook (online)
307 F. Supp. 3d 661, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zmc-pharmacy-llc-v-state-farm-mut-auto-ins-co-mied-2018.