Court Opinion

ID: 9599955
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 01:22:28.652123+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:01:47.866100
License: Public Domain

Justice Mitchell
dissenting.
I agree with the majority that the only question before us is whether the trial court’s findings of fact support its conclusions of law. I would hold that they do not.
The trial court’s findings merely indicate that the defendant Stainback, through his attorney Rogers, made Duke aware of the fact that he had brought an action against Investors and that, from time to time, he informed them of the status of that action. The findings are devoid of any statement by Stainback or Rogers expressing or implying an intent that any damages which might possibly be recovered in the suit against Investors would ever be paid in whole or in part to Duke.
I do not believe that the burden was upon Stainback to act affirmatively to notify Duke that he would not pay it out of any damages he recovered from Investors, in order to prevent the doctrine of equitable estoppel from being applied against him and in Duke’s favor. Instead, it would be more reasonable to place the burden upon the functionaries of Duke’s compensation and liability section to have asked Stainback or Rogers the simple question: “Do you plan to use any of the money you may recover to pay your bill with us?” The findings of the trial court did not reveal that any such question was ever asked of Stainback or of Rogers.
It seems to me that the trial court and the majority in this Court have concluded that, absent express notice by the defendant that he did not intend to pay Duke from any recovery he might receive in his suit against Investors, the defendant was equitably estopped from raising the statute of limitations as a defense in Duke’s action against him. A comparison of the conclusions of the trial court, or the opinion of the majority here, with the trial court’s findings simply supports no other view. Therefore, I must dissent.
I am not quite sure to what extent the majority applies the Golden Rule in this case. It occurs to me that, if the Golden Rule *343were truly to be applied in the present case, Duke would be required to forgive the debt Stainback owed it for the treatment of his child, rather than seeking to invoke the doctrine of equitable estoppel against him where its own negligence caused it to fail to bring this action before the statute of limitations had run.
I respectfully dissent.
Justice Webb joins in this dissenting opinion.