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Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. v. All Care6/7/2005
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - TORTS-OTHER THAN PERSONAL INJURY & PROPERTY DAMAGE
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 06/07/2005
EN BANC.
BACKGROUND
. All Care, Inc. (All Care) sued Progressive Gulf Insurance Company (Progressive) in Hinds County Circuit Court. All Care sought damages based on the assertion that Progressive engaged in tortious interference with All Care's business relations. Following trial, the jury returned a verdict for All Care and awarded $1,436,000 in actual business losses. Post trial, Progressive filed an unsuccessful motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Progressive appeals the circuit court's denial of its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and asserts the following allegations of error, listed verbatim:
I. WHETHER ALL CARE FAILED TO PROVE THAT PROGRESSIVE DEFENDANTS ACTED WITH A MALICIOUS INTENT TO HARM ALL CARE'S BUSINESS, AND WITHOUT A LEGITIMATE PURPOSE OR JUSTIFIABLE CAUSES.
II. WHETHER ALL CARE FAILED TO PROVE THAT THE PROGRESSIVE DEFENDANTS PROXIMATELY CAUSED QUANTIFIABLE DAMAGES TO ALL CARE.
III. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN ALLOWING THE DAMAGES TESTIMONY OF DR. STAN SMITH TO BE HEARD BY THE JURY.
Finding no error, we affirm.
FACTS
. Between July of 1994 and August of 1997, All Care owned and operated a medical clinic in Jackson, Mississippi. All Care treated minor soft tissue injuries, exclusively. The majority of All Care's patients were client referrals from personal injury attorneys. Personal injury attorneys tended to refer their clients to All Care because All Care utilized a "lien billing system."
. According to All Care's lien billing system, when a personal injury attorney referred a client to All Care, All Care would provide treatment to that client and would forego payment at that time. If a patient collected on his personal injury claim, All Care was paid from the proceeds. If a patient did not collect on his personal injury claim, the patient was held personally responsible for All Care's medical bills. At the end of 1995, All Care experienced a drop in the number of referrals. As a result, All Care's earnings dropped.
. During All Care's existence, Progressive employed an insurance adjuster named Michael Muench. In his role as an adjuster, Muench frequently engaged in conflicts with various personal injury attorneys over the amount and propriety of All Care's medical fees. All Care believed that Muench targeted All Care and waged an inappropriate war of attrition against All Care's reputation and billing practices. All Care felt that Muench ultimately bullied numerous personal injury attorneys into sending their clientele to competing medical clinics. All Care eventually became increasingly unprofitable and blamed Muench and Progressive for its decline in earnings. Accordingly, All Care filed suit against Progressive, from which the present action arises.
ANALYSIS
I. WHETHER ALL CARE FAILED TO PROVE THAT PROGRESSIVE DEFENDANTS ACTED WITH A MALICIOUS INTENT TO HARM ALL CARE'S BUSINESS, AND WITHOUT A LEGITIMATE PURPOSE OR JUSTIFIABLE CAUSES.
. Broadly speaking, Progressive asserts that All Care failed to prove the prima facie elements of a claim of tortious interference with business relations. Tortious interference with a business relationship occurs when "a wrongdoer unlawfully diverts prospective customers away from one's business, thereby encouraging customers to trade with another." Cenac v. Murry, 609 So.2d 1257, 1268 (Miss. 1992) (internal quotations omitted). To prove a prima facie claim of tortious interference with a business re
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