DENISE REEVES V MIDMICHIGAN HEALTH
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
DENISE REEVES, Guardian of ARTHUR L.
REEVES, a/k/a MICHAEL TALLY,
UNPUBLISHED
September 30, 2010
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 291855
Gratiot Circuit Court
LC No. 07-010757-NH
MIDMICHIGAN HEALTH, d/b/a GRATIOT
MEDICAL CENTER,
Defendant-Appellee,
and
NATHAN Z. ZZIWAMBAZZA, M.D., and
EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS MEDICAL
GROUP, P.C.,
Defendants.
Before: MURPHY, C.J., and HOEKSTRA and STEPHENS, JJ.
HOEKSTRA, J. (dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. Because I conclude that plaintiff failed to present any evidence of
an act or neglect by defendant that would generate a reasonable belief that Dr. Nathan
Zziwambazza was acting as its agent, I would affirm the trial court’s order granting summary
disposition to defendant.
Plaintiff does not dispute that Dr. Zziwambazza was an independent contractor of
defendant. Thus, plaintiff can only hold defendant liable if Dr. Zziwambazza was an ostensible
agent. See Setterington v Pontiac Gen Hosp, 223 Mich App 594, 602; 568 NW2d 93 (1997). To
establish a claim of ostensible agency, a plaintiff must establish the following:
(1) the person dealing with the agent must do so with belief in the agent’s
authority and this belief must be a reasonable one, (2) the belief must be
generated by some act or neglect on the part of the principal sought to be charged,
and (3) the person relying on the agent’s authority must not be guilty of
negligence. [Chapa v St. Mary’s Hosp of Saginaw, 192 Mich App 29, 33-34; 480
NW2d 590 (1991).]
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I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the admission consent form and the
discharge instructions could provide a basis for a reasonable belief that Dr. Zziwambazza was
acting as defendant’s agent. Neither the admission consent form nor the discharge instructions
discuss the relationship between defendant and the physicians providing treatment in its
emergency room. In addition, the only physician referred to in the admission consent form is the
patient’s own physician. For example, the consent form states that the patient “voluntarily
permit[s] to such medical and surgical treatment, and hospital care . . . by my physician . . . as
[is] necessary and proper in his/her professional judgment.” The inclusion of the phrase “my
physician,” which indicates a relationship between the patient and the physician, in the consent
form provides no suggestion that Dr. Zziwambazza was an agent of defendant. Moreover, as the
majority notes, Dr. Zziwambazza never discussed his employment status with Arthur Reeves,
and he wore a lab coat that displayed the logo of Emergency Physicians Medical Group, his
employer. In my opinion, there is no evidence in the record that defendant did or failed to do
anything that would create a reasonable belief that Dr. Zziwambazza was acting on its behalf.
Chapa, 192 Mich App at 34. I would affirm the trial court’s order granting summary disposition
to defendant.
/s/ Joel P. Hoekstra
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