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Alaimo Family Chiropractic v. Allstate Insurance Co.12/31/2002
PUBLISHED
Alaimo Family Chiropractic ("Alaimo") provided medical services to a patient who was injured in an automobile crash with a driver insured by Allstate Insurance Company ("Allstate"). The patient executed an "Assignment of Proceeds, Lien and Authorization" ("assignment") in favor of Alaimo. When Allstate failed to heed the assignment and did not pay Alaimo for the treatment that Alaimo had provided, Alaimo sued. The district court granted Alaimo's motion for summary judgment, and Allstate now appeals. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the decision of the district court.
I.
On March 14, 2000, Paul Tucker, insured by Allstate, was involved in an automobile collision with John MacEwan. Mr. MacEwan was injured in the wreck and sought treatment with Alaimo, who provided chiropractic care to Mr. MacEwan from March 20, 2000, to June 29, 2000. On March 20, 2000, Mr. MacEwan signed the assignment. Alaimo forwarded a copy of the document to Allstate's claims representative, Leigh Ann Ritter, on March 22, 2000, and again on April 19, 2000.
In addition to a copy of the assignment, Alaimo sent Allstate a bill for services rendered to Mr. MacEwan up to and including March 22, 2000, which amounted to $400. Ms. Ritter advised Alaimo that she would pay the $400 bill but that Allstate would not be willing to pay Alaimo for Mr. MacEwan's treatment beyond the initial two or three visits.
In May 2000, Alaimo informed Allstate that Mr. MacEwan's injuries were consistent with the type that result from automobile collisions and that Mr. MacEwan would require 20 to 24 treatments at an estimated cost of $1500 to $1800. The next month Ms. Ritter sent a letter to Mr. MacEwan, offering him $1500 to settle his claim, with $1100 going to Mr. MacEwan and $400 to Alaimo. Allstate did not send a copy of this letter to Alaimo.
Because it had heard nothing from Allstate, Alaimo sent a facsimile to Ms. Ritter on April 18, 2001, requesting information on the status of its claim. Ms. Ritter acknowledged that she had received the Assignment of Proceeds, Lien and Authorization but informed Alaimo that Allstate had settled with Mr. MacEwan directly and had sent the entire $1500 to him. On April 24, 2001, Alaimo notified Allstate that it had failed to honor the assignment and demanded full payment of its account. In a letter to Alaimo dated April 25, 2001, Ms. Ritter indicated that she had previously told Mr. MacEwan and Alaimo that Allstate would not pay for treatment beyond the two or three initial visits; that Alaimo and Mr. MacEwan chose to continue treatment knowing that Allstate would not cover it; that she had erred in sending $400 of the $1500 settlement to Mr. MacEwan rather than to Alaimo; and that Allstate was willing to pay Alaimo $400 if Alaimo would agree to collect the remaining balance directly from Mr. MacEwan.
Alaimo sued in the district court small claims division in May 2001. The magistrate entered judgment in favor of Alaimo, and Allstate appealed to the district court. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. On November 29, 2001, the district court granted Alaimo's motion and denied Allstate's motion. Specifically, the court found that the assignment was valid and "obligated the Defendant to acknowledge the rights of the Plaintiff to receive payment out of the insurance proceeds for the medical treatment the Plaintiff provided." Allstate now appeals.
II.
Allstate argues that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Alaimo because the assignment did not create a valid assignment under North Carolina law. Accordingly, Allstate contends that it, and not Alaimo, is entitled to jud
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