THE HEALING PLACE LTD V FARM BUREAU MUT INS CO OF MICH
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
HEALING PLACE, LTD., HEALING PLACE AT
NORTH OAKLAND MEDICAL CENTER,
ANOTHER STEP FORWARD, NEW START,
INC., and MITCHELL DITTMAN, Guardian of
LINDA WALLACE, a legally incapacitated
individual,
UNPUBLISHED
August 5, 2010
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v
No. 286050
Oakland Circuit Court
LC No. 05-063954-NF
FARM BUREAU MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY OF MICHIGAN, a Michigan
Insurance Corporation,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: STEPHENS, P.J., AND JANSEN AND WILDER, JJ.
WILDER, P.J., (concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I join with the majority opinion in rejecting plaintiff’s assertion that the trial court lacked
subject matter jurisdiction to rule on the issue of the licensure applicable in the instant case.
Questions of statutory standing require this Court to analyze the statutory language to determine
legislative intent. Miller v Allstate Ins Co, 481 Mich 601, 609-610; 751 NW2d 463 (2008).
MCL 500.3157 provides in relevant part that “a physician, hospital, clinic or other person or
institution lawfully rendering treatment to an injured person . . . may charge a reasonable
amount. . . .” This Court held in Healing Place at North Oakland Medical Center v Allstate Ins
Co, 277 Mich App 51, 60; 744 NW2d 174 (2007) (hereinafter Naylor), that “under MCL
500.3157, if both the individual and the institution were each required to be licensed and either
was not, the ‘lawfully render[ed]’ requirement would be unsatisfied.” Nothing in MCL 500.3157
states that the question whether a person or institution is lawfully rendering treatment to an
injured person may only be reviewed by this Court following a contested procedure under the
Administrative Procedures Act. See Miller, 481 Mich at 611.
I disagree with the majority’s conclusion, however, that summary disposition in favor of
defendant was improper as it concerned psychiatric services provided to Linda Wallace at
facilities other than North Oakland Medical Center. The evidence is undisputed that New Start
was licensed as an outpatient substance abuse program, and that The Healing Place, Ltd. had no
license at all. There is no evidence in the record that Wallace was rendered any treatment at The
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Healing Place of Detroit, located at the Samaritan Center, and The Healing Place of Detroit is not
a party to this action seeking relief. On the record before us, plaintiff has failed to provide any
evidence to distinguish this case from Naylor insofar as it involves the trial court’s grant of
summary disposition as to psychiatric services provided to Wallace. I would affirm in its
entirety the trial court’s grant of summary disposition on the question of psychiatric services
rendered to Wallace.
I also disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the trial court erred in granting
summary disposition in favor of defendant on the question whether the remaining services
provided to Wallace were required to be provided by an adult foster care facility. Under MCL
400.703(4), an “adult foster care facility includes facilities and foster care family homes for
adults who are aged, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or physically disabled who require
supervision on an ongoing basis but do not require continuous nursing care.”
Roman Frankel, shareholder and officer of New Start, The Healing Place at North
Oakland Medical Center and The Healing Place, Ltd., testified that in the Healing Place
residential program, Wallace received 24-hour staff interaction, and that staff maintained a
medication schedule for her. Dr. Bruce Lessien testified that at the time of his deposition,
Wallace was in a New Start apartment in a supervised independent living setting. According to
Dr. Lessien, because of the supervision provided, Wallace has external controls placed on her
including her hours, the routine determination of who is permitted and is not permitted in her
apartment, and how her apartment is maintained, including regular inspections. Dr. Lessien also
testified that Wallace lacked sufficient internal controls such that she has impaired ability to
derive benefit from traditional substance abuse treatment, thus making her at higher risk for
substance abuse relapse without external controls. Further, in response to defendant’s third
requests for admission, plaintiffs admitted that Another Step Forward was not licensed as an
adult foster care facility or a psychiatric hospital unit. In reply to defendant’s motion for
summary disposition, plaintiffs offered no evidence that the services offered to Wallace by
Another Step Forward did not require ongoing supervision of Ms. Wallace.
Contrary to the majority, I would conclude that the record is more than sufficient to
support the conclusion that Wallace “require[d] supervision on an ongoing basis but [did] not
require continuous nursing care,” MCL 400.703(4), and that therefore, the trial court did not err
in granting summary disposition in favor of defendant on the basis that plaintiffs provided adult
foster care facility services without proper licensure.
For the foregoing reasons, I would affirm in its entirety the trial court’s order granting
summary disposition in favor of defendant.
/s/ Kurtis T. Wilder
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