J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. v. Forrest Gen. Hosp.
| Docket Number: | 2008-CA-02111-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 05-20-2010 Opinion Author: Lamar, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Indemnity - Successive tortfeasor Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson and Graves, P.JJ., Dickinson, Randolph, Kitchens, Chandler and Pierce, JJ. Procedural History: Dismissal Nature of the Case: CIVIL - OTHER |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 08-26-2008 Appealed from: Forrest County Circuit Court Judge: Robert Helfrich Disposition: The trial court granted FGH’s motion to dismiss. Case Number: CI07-0082 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. |
MORTON W. SMITH, DAVID C. DUNBAR |
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| Appellee: | Forrest General Hospital | R. MARK HODGES, KIMBERLY N. HOWLAND |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Indemnity - Successive tortfeasor |
| Summary of the Facts: | J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. filed suit against George McGee, M.D., and Forrest General Hospital, asserting claims of negligence, medical malpractice, and common-law indemnity arising from the treatment of Melissa Hall, who was injured in an automobile accident by a tractor-trailer owned and operated by J.B. Hunt. J.B. Hunt negotiated a settlement with Hall’s estate and wrongful-death beneficiaries before filing the instant action. The trial court granted FGH’s motion to dismiss, and J.B. Hunt appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The question presented in this case is whether J.B. Hunt, a negligent tortfeasor in a motor-vehicle accident which resulted in serious injuries to Melissa Hall, can seek indemnity from a health-care provider (FGH) whose subsequent negligent medical treatment of Hall, according to the allegations of the complaint, caused Hall’s death. An obligation to indemnify may arise from a contractual relation, from an implied contractual relation or out of liability imposed by law. When one person is required to pay money which another person in all fairness should pay, then the former may recover indemnity from the latter in the amount which he paid, provided the person making the payment has not conducted himself in a wrongful manner so as to bar his recovery. Prerequisites generally necessary for the invocation of noncontractual implied indemnity include that the damages which the claimant seeks to shift are imposed upon him as a result of some legal obligation to the injured person and it must appear that the claimant did not actively or affirmatively participate in the wrong. J.B. Hunt’s liability stems from its admitted negligent acts, which resulted in serious injuries to Hall, forcing her to seek medical care and hospitalization. Obviously Hunt did not participate in the medical care and treatment of Hall, but it was responsible for the event which caused her to seek medical treatment at FGH. Although Hunt argues that it was guilty of only “passive negligence” in the death of Hall, the facts of this case could not support a finding that J. B. Hunt was free of fault or that it did not actively or affirmatively participate in the wrong. Moreover, while J. B. Hunt maintains that its cause of action is for indemnity, this is in fact an effort to recover contribution from a successive or subsequent tortfeasor. Indemnity is an all or nothing proposition damage-wise, and hence should be an all or nothing proposition fault-wise. Recovery under these circumstances has not been adopted in this state either by statute or by court decision. |
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