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Heffner v. Reynolds9/6/2002
DECISION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY
. This is an appeal from a judgment of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas that granted summary judgment to defendants-appellees, Dwight C. Reynolds, M.D., and the Centers for Health Promotion, Inc., thereby dismissing the claims of plaintiffs-appellants for breach of contract. From that judgment, appellants Ida D. Heffner, Sherri Heath, and Joanne Foley now raise the following assignment of error:
. "The trial court erred in granting summary judgment to defendants-appellees."
. The undisputed facts of this case are as follows. Dwight C. Reynolds is a medical doctor engaged in the practice of liposuction surgery through the Centers for Health Promotion, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Reynolds solicits liposuction patients through the Internet and printed promotional literature. A one-page flier published by appellees and posted in appellants' beauty shop reads in part: "Dr. Reynolds, one of the nations leading liposuction surgeons, has performed more than 4,500 Procedures Without Complications And Excellent Results. Dr. Reynolds Trained In General Surgery At the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Reynolds Has Been Board Certified In Emergency Medicine Since 1985. His Slogan is 'We Trim Your Fat, Not Your Wallet.' Satisfaction Guaranteed, So Long As Your Goals Are Realistic." A more detailed brochure from the Centers for Health Promotion includes a letter purporting to have been written and signed by Dr. Reynolds that reads: "From the moment you enter our center for your initial consultation with me, until your dream of a new you is realized, we are here to offer support and present to you a warm and compassionate medical staff to assist you. To my knowledge we are the only institution that in writing will: 1. Guarantee you will be happy with your results." That brochure further includes six pages of information describing Dr. Reynolds's credentials and how the liposuction procedure is performed. One of those pages is titled "Areas Suitable for Liposuction Surgery Satisfaction Guaranteed." Finally, the brochure includes two pages of what purport to be before and after photographs of patients who have undergone liposuction surgery. Both of those pages include the words "SATISFACTION GUARANTEED" in large, bold type.
. Appellants, Ida D. Heffner, Sherri Heath, and Joanne A. Foley, all underwent liposuction surgery, performed by Dr. Reynolds, between November 1998 and August 1999. In affidavits filed in the proceedings below, all three appellants asserted that they were not satisfied with the outcome of the cosmetic surgery performed by Dr. Reynolds, that they relied upon the express guarantees of satisfaction given orally and in writing by Dr. Reynolds, and that they would not have consented to the surgery without the guarantees.
. On March 30, 2000, Ida Heffner and Sherri Heath filed a complaint in the court below, asserting claims for medical malpractice and breach of express warranties. Shortly thereafter, Joanne Foley also filed a complaint in the court below, asserting the same claims. Subsequently, the lower court filed an order consolidating the two cases.
. Initially, appellees filed a motion to dismiss the claims for breach of contract on the ground that appellants had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Subsequently, however, they filed a motion for summary judgment, and the trial court, in a pretrial order, converted appellees' motion to dismiss to a motion for summary judgment. In their summary judgment motion, appellees asserted that they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law because there can be no claim for breach of contract when medica
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