No. 02-588
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
2003 MT 103
MARIA RENVILLE,
Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE,
Defendant and Respondent.
APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Eighth Judicial District,
In and for the County of Cascade, Cause No. CDV-02-067,
The Honorable Kenneth Neill, Judge presiding.
COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For Appellant:
Dennis P. Connor, Conner & Shannon, PLLP, Great Falls, Montana
For Respondent:
William J. Gregoire, Smith, Walsh, Clarke & Gregoire, Great Falls, Montana
Submitted on Briefs: January 9, 2003
Decided: April 24, 2003
Filed:
__________________________________________
Clerk
Justice Terry N. Trieweiler delivered the Opinion of the Court.
¶1 The Appellant, Maria Renville, filed an action for declaratory judgment in the District
Court for the Eighth Judicial District in Cascade County, in which she requested that the
Respondent, Farmers Insurance Exchange, pay the damages she was awarded at trial, and her
ongoing medical expenses, and that the District Court award her compensatory and punitive
damages. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The District Court denied
Renville’s motion, granted Farmers’ motion, and dismissed Renville’s declaratory action.
Renville appeals from the District Court's order. We reverse the order and judgment of the
District Court.
¶2 We restate the issues on appeal as follows:
¶3 1. Did the District Court abuse its discretion when it dismissed Renville’s request for
a declaratory judgment on the issue of past medical expenses?
¶4 2. Did the District Court abuse its discretion when it dismissed Renville’s request for
a declaratory judgment on the issue of ongoing medical expenses?
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
¶5 On April 1, 1995, Maria Renville was involved in an automobile collision in Great
Falls, Montana. At the time of the collision, Renville was a passenger in a vehicle driven by
Matthew MacDonald. MacDonald’s vehicle collided with a vehicle driven by Ursula Taylor.
Renville alleged that she sustained injuries as a result of the collision, and sued Taylor to
recover damages. Prior to the trial, Taylor admitted that she had negligently caused the
collision. The jury was then asked to determine whether the collision caused injuries to
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Renville and, if so, to determine the amount of her damages. On December 10, 1998, the
jury found that Renville had sustained injuries as a result of the collision, and awarded
damages in the amount of $17,553.
¶6 Renville filed an appeal with this Court in which she argued that the jury’s damage
award was not supported by substantial evidence because it failed to compensate her for
damages other than past medical expenses. See Renville v. Talyor, 2000 MT 217, ¶ 16, 301
Mont. 99, ¶ 16, 7 P.3d 400, ¶ 16 (Renville I). We held that because the jury’s award was
limited to past medical expenses, and provided no recovery for Renville's pain and suffering,
it was not supported by substantial evidence. Renville I, ¶ 26. We remanded this case to the
District Court for a new trial on the issue of damages on August 11, 2000. Renville I, ¶ 28.
¶7 At the time of the collision, Taylor was insured by Farmers Insurance Exchange.
Farmers paid approximately $13,000 of Renville’s medical expenses prior to the December
1998 trial. Farmers has since refused to make any additional payments to Renville. With
re-trial of her case still pending in the District Court, Renville filed a complaint for
declaratory judgment against Farmers on January 16, 2002. Renville’s complaint requested
that: (1) Farmers pay the remainder of the jury’s $17,553 damage award; (2) Farmers pay
her ongoing medical expenses; and (3) the District Court award her compensatory and
punitive damages.
¶8 On April 12, 2002, Renville filed a motion for partial summary judgment. Farmers
filed a motion for summary judgment on April 26, 2002. On August 9, 2002, the District
Court issued an order in which it denied Renville’s motion, granted Farmers’ motion, and
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dismissed Renville’s complaint for declaratory judgment. Renville appealed the District
Court’s order on September 10, 2002.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶9 The decision to dismiss a complaint for declaratory relief is within the sound
discretion of the district court. Northfield Ins. v. Ass’n of Counties, 2001 MT 256, ¶ 8, 301
Mont. 472, ¶ 8, 10 P.3d 813, ¶ 8. We will not disturb the court’s decision absent an abuse
of discretion. Northfield, ¶ 8 (citations omitted).
DISCUSSION
ISSUE 1
¶10 Did the District Court abuse its discretion when it dismissed Renville’s request for
a declaratory judgment on the issue of past medical expenses?
¶11 Renville sought a declaratory judgment that Farmers is required to pay her the
$17,553 which the jury awarded her for past medical expenses. However, the District Court
concluded that the effect of our holding in Renville I was to remand the entire issue of
damages to the District Court for a new trial. The District Court further concluded that
factual issues existed with regard to the amount of Renville’s past medical expenses, and that
such factual issues were for a jury to determine upon re-trial. Therefore, the District Court
dismissed Renville’s request for a declaratory judgment on the issue of past medical
expenses.
¶12 On appeal, Renville contends that the District Court abused its discretion when it
failed to follow our holding in Renville I with regard to past medical expenses. Renville
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asserts that our holding in Renville I: (1) established that she had incurred past medical
expenses in the amount of $17,553; and (2) remanded the issue of further damages to the
District Court for re-trial. We conclude that Renville's interpretation of our prior decision
is correct.
¶13 The relevant language from Renville I is as follows:
Even though the jury was instructed to award damages for past and future
medical expense, loss of earnings and earning capacity, pain and suffering,
loss of ability to pursue an occupation, and loss of ability to pursue an
established course of life, the jury's general verdict was limited to the
amount of the past medical expenses. [Emphasis added.]
Renville I, ¶ 13.
We conclude that [Renville] was entitled to some award of damages for the
pain and suffering proven in this case. We further conclude that the jury’s
award limited to past medical expenses is not supported by substantial
evidence and should be set aside. . . . For that reason, we set aside the jury’s
verdict on damages and remand to the District Court for a new trial limited to
the issue of damages.
Renville I, ¶¶ 26, 28.
¶14 The above language from Renville I clearly states that the jury’s award was limited
to Renville’s past medical expenses. The jury awarded Renville $17,553 in spite of the
defendant's argument on appeal that the award included other elements of damage. Implicit
in our holding was that past medical expenses in the amount $17,553 had been proven and
awarded.
¶15 We have previously held that: “Under the doctrine of law of the case, a prior decision
of this Court resolving a particular issue between the same parties in the same case is binding
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and cannot be relitigated.” Calcaterra v. Montana Resources, 2001 MT 193, ¶ 10, 306
Mont. 249, ¶ 10, 32 P.3d 764, ¶ 10. We have further noted that “the law of the case doctrine
applies only to those principles or rules of law enunciated by this Court which are ‘necessary
to the decision’ before it,” as “the doctrine does not extend so far as to include matter which
was consequential, incidental, or not decided by the court.” Sanders v. State, 1998 MT 62,
¶ 16, 288 Mont. 143, ¶ 16, 955 P.2d 1356, ¶ 16 (citations omitted).
¶16 The sole issue, with regard to damages, examined by this Court in Renville I was
whether the jury’s award was supported by substantial evidence. Essential to our conclusion
that the verdict was not supported by substantial evidence was our conclusion that the jury’s
award in the amount of $17,553 was limited to Renville’s past medical expenses. Therefore,
we hold that the law of the case doctrine applies and that our holding in Renville I
established that Renville had incurred past medical expenses in the amount of $17,553.
¶17 The law of the case doctrine precludes subsequent evidentiary hearings on issues
finally adjudicated by this Court. It thus promotes judicial economy. State v. Gilder, 2001
MT 121, ¶ 16, 305 Mont. 362, ¶ 16, 28 P.3d 488, ¶ 16. Therefore, the District Court was
precluded from revisiting the issue of Renville’s past medical damages on remand. A district
court’s failure to properly apply the law of the case constitutes an abuse of discretion.
Gilder, ¶ 18. Here, the District Court failed to treat our decision in Renville I as the law of
the case when it concluded that factual issues existed as to the amount of Renville’s past
medical expenses. Accordingly, the District Court abused its discretion when it denied
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Renville’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed her request for a declaratory
judgment on the issue of past medical expenses.
ISSUE 2
¶18 Did the District Court abuse its discretion when it dismissed Renville’s request for
a declaratory judgment on the issue of ongoing medical expenses?
¶19 Renville’s declaratory judgment action also requested that the District Court order
Farmers to pay the medical expenses which she incurred subsequent to trial (hereinafter
referred to as ongoing medical expenses). However, the District Court concluded that
factual issues existed with regard to the cause of Renville’s ongoing medical expenses which
must be determined by a jury upon re-trial. Accordingly, the District Court also dismissed
Renville’s request for a declaratory judgment on the issue of ongoing medical expenses.
¶20 Renville maintains that the District Court abused its discretion when it failed to
comply with this Court’s holding in Ridley v. Guaranty Nat. Ins. Co. (1997), 286 Mont. 325,
951 P.2d 987. In Ridley, Keith Ridley was a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in a
collision. The driver of the other vehicle was insured by Guaranty National Insurance
Company. Ridley, 286 Mont. at 327-28, 951 P.2d at 988. Guaranty admitted that its insured
had the majority of fault for the accident, however, it refused to pay for Ridley’s ongoing
medical expenses. Guaranty explained that its refusal to pay was based on its uncertainty
about the causal relationship between the accident and the extent of Ridley’s injuries.
Ridley, 286 Mont. at 328, 951 P.2d at 989. Ridley brought a declaratory action in which he
requested that the District Court determine that pursuant to § 33-18-201, MCA, Guaranty had
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an obligation to pay his medical expenses. The District Court declined to grant Ridley the
requested relief. Ridley, 286 Mont. at 328, 951 P.2d at 989.
¶21 On appeal, this Court analyzed Ridley’s claim in the context of § 33-18-201, MCA.
Ridley, 286 Mont. at 332-33, 951 P.2d at 991. Section 33-18-201, MCA, provides, in
pertinent part, that:
No person may, with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice,
do any of the following:
....
(6) neglect to attempt in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair, and equitable
settlements of claims in which liability has become reasonably clear;
....
(13) fail to promptly settle claims, if liability has become reasonably clear,
under one portion of the insurance policy coverage in order to influence
settlements under other portions of the insurance policy coverage . . . .
¶22 We concluded that both subsections (6) and (13) of § 33-18-201, MCA, require an
insurer to pay an injured third party’s medical expenses before final settlement when liability
is reasonably clear. Ridley, 286 Mont. at 334, 951 P.2d at 992. Consequently, we reversed
the order of the District Court and entered declaratory judgment in favor of Ridley. Ridley,
286 Mont. at 338, 951 P.2d at 994-95.
¶23 The facts of the instant case are nearly identical to those in Ridley. In Renville I, we
noted that Taylor admitted negligently causing the automobile collision and that Taylor did
not contest the jury’s finding that Renville was injured as a result of the collision. Renville
I, ¶¶ 12, 28. Accordingly, Taylor is liable for all of Renville’s medical expenses which are
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causally related to the collision. Farmers, however, refuses to pay Renville’s ongoing
medical expenses because it contends that Renville’s expenses were not causally related to
the collision. Farmers relies on the following language from Ridley:
[Our holding in Ridley] does not mean that an insurer is responsible for all
medical expenses submitted by an injured plaintiff. Liability must be
reasonably clear for the expense that is submitted. That is, even though
liability for the accident may be reasonably clear, an insurer may still dispute
a medical expense if it is not reasonably clear that the expense is causally
related to the accident in question.
Ridley, 286 Mont. at 334, 951 P.2d at 992.
¶24 Farmers correctly contends that an insurer may dispute its obligation to pay a medical
expense. However, it may not do so without any factual basis. In this case, Farmers has
failed to submit evidence to support its claim that Renville’s ongoing medical expenses were
not causally related to the collision. Renville, on the other hand, offered expert testimony
on causation, from three separate expert witnesses, which is uncontroverted. Farmers chose
to rely on testimony from the prior trial. That evidence was obviously disregarded by the
jury and is not relevant to the issue of ongoing medical expenses. To hold otherwise would
fly in the face of what we previously stated about the law of the case. Furthermore, it is well
stated that “parties on appeal are bound by the record and may not add additional matters in
briefs or appendices.” Janow v. Conoco Pipe Line Co., 2000 MT 242, ¶ 14, 301 Mont. 402,
¶ 14, 10 P.3d 79, ¶ 14. Thus, Farmers may not rely on evidence that is not a part of the
record in this case.
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¶25 Pursuant to Renville I, it is clear that Taylor is liable for all of Renville’s medical
expenses which are causally related to the collision. Renville, ¶ 28. Therefore, because
Farmers failed to present facts to controvert deposition testimony which established that
Renville’s ongoing medical expenses are causally related to the collision, Farmers is required
to pay Renville’s ongoing medical expenses pursuant to our holding in Ridley. See Ridley,
286 Mont. at 334, 951 P.2d at 992. Accordingly, the District Court abused its discretion
when it failed to follow our holding in Ridley and dismissed Renville’s request for a
declaratory judgment on the issue of ongoing medical expenses.
¶26 For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the judgment of the District Court, and remand
this case for proceedings consistent with this Opinion.
/S/ TERRY N. TRIEWEILER
We Concur:
/S/ JIM REGNIER
/S/ JAMES C. NELSON
/S/ PATRICIA COTTER
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Justice Jim Rice dissenting.
¶27 I respectfully dissent from Issue 1. The Court’s holding and instructions on remand
in Renville I were as follows:
Accordingly, we conclude that the jury’s damage award was not
supported by substantial credible evidence. For that reason, we set aside the
jury’s verdict on damages and remand to the District Court for a new trial
limited to the issue of damages. We note that Taylor has not appealed the
jury’s finding that Maria was injured as a result of the parties’ collision.
Therefore, upon retrial that fact need not be re-established.
....
We reverse the judgment of the District Court and remand to the District Court
for a new trial limited to the issue of damages.
Renville I, ¶¶ 28, 37 (emphasis added). The Court’s intent in Renville I may very well have
been to order judgment for Renville’s past medical expenses on the basis of the jury’s
verdict, but I cannot fault the District Court’s denial thereof, given the language of the
holding and the instructions in Renville I, which failed to express this intention or instruct
that a partial judgment be entered. The Court distinctly ordered a new trial on damages and
exempted only the necessity of proving that Maria’s injury was caused by the collision from
re-trial. The law of the case is what the Court held, not what it otherwise intended:
On remand, the trial court may consider or decide any matters left open by the
appellate court and is free to make any order in further progress of the case,
not inconsistent with the decision of the appellate court, as to any question not
presented or settled by that decision . . . . 5 Am. Jur. 2d 420, 421, Appeal and
Error, §§ 992 (1962).
State v. Gilder, 2001 MT 121, ¶ 14, 305 Mont. 362, ¶ 14, 28 P.3d 488, ¶14, quoting
Zavarelli v. Might (1989), 239 Mont. 120, 125, 779 P.2d 489, 492-93. Here, the issue of
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damages was “not settled” by the decision, but rather, remanded for re-trial. Because the
issue, intentionally or not, was “left open” by Renville I, I would affirm.
¶28 Further, for that very reason–that Renville I left open the issue of damages for retrial
–I cannot agree with the Court that evidence introduced at the first trial is “not relevant to
the issue of ongoing medical bills” for purposes of applying Ridley, and thus, because
causation of some of the medical bills remains in dispute, I would affirm the District Court
on Issue 2.
/S/ JIM RICE
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