Welch v. Oaktree Health & Rehabilitation Center LLC
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On appeal from the trial court's denial of a motion to compel arbitration in this wrongful death lawsuit brought against Defendant, a nursing home, the Supreme Court held that Defendant did not meet the requirements for limited statutory immunity from civil liability under either Tennessee's Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Act, Tenn. Code Ann. 34-6-201 to -218, or the Health Care Decisions Act, Tenn. Code Ann. 68-11-1801 to -1815.
After a resident of the nursing home died his estate brought the underlying wrongful death suit. Defendant moved to compel arbitration based on an arbitration agreement executed by Plaintiff on the decedent's behalf pursuant to a durable power of attorney for health care (POA) form. Plaintiff objected, arguing that the decedent did not have the mental capacity to appoint an agent when he executed the POA. The trial court concluded that the POA was invalid. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the trial court erred in looking beyond the face of the POA to determine whether Defendant had the mental capacity to execute it. The Supreme Court reversed and affirmed the trial court, holding that the trial court did not err in considering evidence on whether the principal had the requisite mental capacity to execute the POA.
Court Description: Authoring Judge: Justice Holly Kirby
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jerry Stokes
Tennessee’s Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Act, Tennessee Code Annotated sections 34-6-201 to -218, includes a provision for limited statutory immunity from civil liability, under certain conditions, for health care providers who rely in good faith on health care decisions made by an apparent agent on a principal’s behalf. Id. -208. Tennessee’s Health Care Decisions Act, Tennessee Code Annotated sections 68-11-1801 to -1815, includes a similar provision for limited statutory immunity from civil liability, under certain conditions, for health care providers who comply in good faith with health care decisions made by an apparent agent on a principal’s behalf. Id. -1810. The health care decision in this case is the execution of an arbitration agreement with admission to a nursing home. The agreement was signed by an agent under a durable power of attorney for health care executed several years earlier. After the resident’s death, his estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home on negligence theories. On appeal from the trial court’s denial of the defendant nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration, we hold that the nursing home does not meet the requirements for limited statutory immunity from civil liability under either the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Act or the Health Care Decisions Act. Consequently, the trial court did not err in considering evidence on whether the principal had the requisite mental capacity to execute the durable power of attorney for health care. We overrule the holding on the immunity provision in the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Act, Tennessee Code Annotated section 34-6-208, in Owens v. National Health Corporation, 263 S.W.3d 876, 889 n.4 (Tenn. 2007), to the extent it is inconsistent with this opinion. We affirm the trial court, reverse the Court of Appeals, and remand to the Court of Appeals.
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