Jean Marchant, as guardian of Krista Marchant, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Boulder Community Health, Inc.; and Cardon Outreach, LLC, a foreign corporation, Defendants-Appellees.
Boulder County District Court No. 16CV30445 Honorable Thomas
F. Mulvahill, Judge
Bold,
Educated Lawyering LLC, Thomas D. Russel, Denver, Colorado,
for Plaintiff-Appellant
Hall
& Evans, L.L.C., Alan Epstein, Denver, Colorado, for
Defendants-Appellees
Webb
and Fox, JJ., concur
OPINION
JUDGE
MÁRQUEZ [*]
¶
1 Plaintiff, Jean Marchant, as guardian of Krista Marchant,
appeals the summary judgment in favor of defendants, Boulder
Community Health, Inc. (BCH), and Cardon Outreach, LLC
(Cardon), regarding her right to seek damages of twice the
amount of a hospital lien filed in violation of section
38-27-101, C.R.S. 2017, (the hospital lien statute) against
her daughter. We affirm.
I.
Background
¶
2 The record shows the following undisputed facts. Krista
Marchant, plaintiff's daughter, was struck by an
automobile and received medical treatment from BCH in
November 2015, for which BCH billed $27, 681.10. Cardon, as
an agent for BCH, filed with the Colorado Secretary of State
a statutory lien in that amount "upon the net amount
payable to [daughter], . . . or [her] legal representatives .
. . as damages on account of such injuries," on December
10, 2015, without first billing the daughter's insurance
company.
¶
3 On February 10, 2016, BCH made an insurance
"adjustment" to reduce the bill by $19, 903.99 and
billed daughter's medical insurance company, Blue Cross
Blue Shield (BCBS), the next day. BCBS paid $6999.37 on
February 23, leaving a balance of $777.74.
¶
4 On March 17, Cardon amended the lien to $777.74, the
remaining balance of daughter's medical charges. The
parties agree that plaintiff filed a complaint against BCH
and Cardon on April 19, while the lien for $777.74 was in
effect, but this complaint is not part of the appellate
record. Plaintiff paid $777.74 on April 30, and Cardon
released the lien on May 11, 2016. Later, plaintiff filed an
amended complaint, asserting, as relevant to this appeal, a
claim for violation of the hospital lien statute against BCH
and Cardon.
¶
5 In response to cross-motions for determinations of a
question of law under C.R.C.P. 56(h), the district court
ruled, as a matter of law, that section 38-27-101(7)
"only provides standing" for a lawsuit if the
plaintiff "'is subject to' an improper lien at
the time he or she files the legal action," and
"does not allow an individual to file a damages lawsuit
. . . where the claim arises out of an improper lien filing
which has been cured prior to filing." Based on this
interpretation, the court granted defendants' motion for
summary judgment.
A. The
Hospital Lien Statute
¶
6 Before August 5, 2015, the hospital lien statute provided
that hospitals "shall . . . have a lien for all
reasonable and necessary charges for hospital care upon the
net amount payable to [a person injured by another
person's negligence or wrongful acts], . . . as damages
on account of such injuries." § 38-27-101, C.R.S.
2014.
¶
7 However, the General Assembly significantly amended the
statute, and the amendment became effective on August 5,
2015, before daughter's injury. Ch. 260, sec. 1, §
38-27-101, 2015 Colo. Sess. Laws 981-83. The ...