Court Opinion

ID: 9547119
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:41:59.573791+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:17:21.025084
License: Public Domain

PLANK, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent.
Although I do not quarrel with the majority’s conclusion that imposition of a constructive trust is not the proper vehicle to sustain the physicians’ claim to their fee, I believe the trial court did reach the correct result and would affirm its ruling.
In my view, the estate should be viewed as holding the funds in question as trustee under a resulting trust in favor of the physicians.
In contrast to a constructive trust, a resulting trust is invoked by equity as a means of giving effect to the intent, actual or implicit, of the parties involved. See In re Marriage of Heinzman, 198 Colo. 36, 596 P.2d 61 (1979) (resulting trust is intent-enforcing trust). Here, without a doubt, Mrs. Payne, had she regained consciousness, would have intended for the physicians to receive their fee for the medical care they provided to her and would have, if necessary, established an express trust to carry out that intent.
Equity has been willing to imply the intent necessary to sustain a resulting trust, and I see no basis for it not to recognize such intent as regards the medically disabled one here involved.
*431If an additional reason is needed to invoke the powers of equity here, one need look no further than the fact that the asset at issue came into existence only by virtue of the efforts of the physicians to save the life of Mrs. Payne.
Also weighing in favor of creating a resulting trust here is the fact that Mountain Bell created the medical reimbursement plan for the benefit of retired employees. It intended that Mrs. Payne would not be burdened with medical expenses and that the doctors would receive their fee for the medical care provided to her. Again, if necessary, an express trust could have been established to carry out that intent.
In my view, the equitable vehicle of a resulting trust is readily usable to bring the intent of Mrs. Payne or Mountain Bell to fruition. Accordingly, since the trial court reached the right result, I would affirm its ruling.