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Lifestar Response of Alabama12/3/2004
epresentative was the Default Judgment was taken against the wrong party, not that Lemuel had sued using the 'wrong name.'" (Lifestar's brief, p. 9.)
Based on that information, Halstrom filed a motion, reciting the content of that telephone conversation and including other information, to amend the judgment to operate against "Life Star Response Corp. of Alabama d/b/a Care Ambulance Service." Copies of the motion were sent by mail to Fraulich and to "Life Star Response Corp. of Alabama d/b/a Care Ambulance Service." The motion mailed to Lifestar was duly received at the Perry Street address the following day.
On June 12 attorney Jack B. Hinton, Jr., entered his notice of appearance on behalf of Care. The following day Halstrom faxed to him a copy of the motion to amend the judgment. Also on that day, Judge Price entered an order setting Halstrom's motion for hearing on June 26, with copies to Halstrom and Hinton. On June 23, 2003, attorney Burt P. Taylor filed a notice of appearance on behalf of "Lifestar Response of Alabama, Inc., d/b/a Care Ambulance Service," and a motion seeking a continuance of the June 26 hearing on the basis that he and his client "just recently learned" of the default judgment and the motion to amend. On June 24 Taylor filed a "corrected motion to continue hearing," reidentifying his client as "Lifestar Response of Alabama, Inc., d/b/a Care Ambulance," combining "Life" and "Star" in the name of the corporate entity and dropping "Service" at the end of its tradename. Halstrom filed an amendment to his motion, asking that the defendant be redesignated as "Lifestar Response of Alabama, Inc., d/b/a Care Ambulance Service." Judge Price rescheduled the hearing on all pending motions for July 14; that hearing was ultimately conducted on July 22.
On July 18, 2003, Care filed a motion to set aside the default judgment pursuant to Rule 55(c), Ala. R. Civ. P., and Rule 60(b)(1), (4), and (6), Ala. R. Civ. P.; on that same day, Lifestar filed its "objection to plaintiff's motion to amend judgment and motion to set aside default judgment." Care asserted in its motion that Lifestar had faxed to it on May 29 a copy of Judge Price's May 16 order setting the hearing on damages for May 28 and that, upon receiving that order, Care had faxed a copy of it to its legal counsel in California. Care alleged that it had a meritorious defense because, among other things, "it was not the entity involved in the alleged medical malpractice made the subject of this suit." Care asserted that no unfair prejudice would result to the plaintiff if the default judgment was set aside and disclaimed any culpable conduct on its part, pointing out that its corporate name had been sold to Lifestar and that " he first information made available to the former 'Care Ambulance Service of Alabama, Inc.,' was at or around the time of the hearing on the default judgment." Claiming alternatively that the default judgment was void as to it because of lack of service, Care attached the affidavit of Branch, who attested that Care had not operated any ambulance companies after the sale of the service to Lifestar and that he was not at the Perry Street address on the date the summons and complaint were served, being then at his residence in Desert Hot Springs, California. He stated that he had not authorized Robertson to accept any service on his behalf.
Lifestar asserted in its motion that its employees rendered no medical treatment to Mr. Lemuel because "Montgomery Fire Department Medics were on the scene at the time of arrival by the Lifestar ambulance and provided all medical care during transport in connection with medical personnel on staff at the hospital." Lifestar argued that the default judg
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