Court Opinion

ID: 9521798
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:11:54.223848+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:58:01.763622
License: Public Domain

PATIENCE DRAKE ROGGENSACK, J.
¶ 53. {dissenting). Because the need for medical care arose out of the same accident as did the settlement proceeds and there is no evidence in the record that Sol Hernandez (Hernandez) provided Attorney Durkin (Durkin) any instructions about the disbursement of the settlement proceeds to Doctor Yorgan (Yorgan) that were contrary to the assignment she executed in favor of Yorgan, I conclude that Hernandez validly assigned to Yorgan settlement proceeds from her personal injury claim, up to the amount of the charges for the chiropractic treatments Yorgan provided to Hernandez. I also conclude that Hernandez granted Yorgan a lien to secure payment of the debt for which the assignment was made, and that the lien can be enforced against the settlement proceeds because Yorgan's lien existed before Durkin had any right to retain a portion of the proceeds and Durkin had knowledge of both the assignment and Yorgan's lien. Accordingly, I would permit Yorgan to recover from Durkin to the extent of the settlement proceeds Durkin received or the amount due to Yorgan for the chiropractic care he provided to Hernandez, whichever is smaller.
¶ 54. I also conclude that the analysis of the majority opinion, which focuses on whether Durkin *696entered into a contract to pay Yorgan,1 misperceives the issue that is dispositive of this case. The analysis chosen by the majority opinion causes it to ignore the validity of Hernandez's assignment to Yorgan and the effect of the lien Hernandez gave on the settlement proceeds Durkin received. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
I. DISCUSSION
A. Standard of Review
¶ 55. Whether one has validly assigned an interest in property is a question of contract interpretation subject to our independent review. Edwards v. Petrone, 160 Wis. 2d 255, 258, 465 N.W.2d 847 (Ct. App. 1990). Whether a lien has attached to property is also reviewed independently. See McIntyre v. Cox, 68 Wis. 2d 597, 602, 229 N.W.2d 613 (1975).
B. Assignments
¶ 56. On December 15, 1999, Hernandez made a plain and unambiguous written assignment2 to Yorgan of proceeds that may be received from her personal injury claim:
I hereby authorize and direct you, my attorney, to pay directly to Dr. Yorgan such sums as may be due and owing him for health services rendered to me by reason of this accident and to withhold such sums from any settlement, judgement or verdict as may be necessary to protect his interests.
¶ 57. Moreover, the circuit court found that this document was sent to Durkin about November 1, 2000, *697when Yorgan's office transmitted Hernandez's treatment records that Durkin had requested. The circuit court also found that Durkin settled Hernandez's personal injury claim about June, 2003 and that prior to reaching a settlement, Durkin contacted Yorgan to see if he would reduce the amount then due for chiropractic services. When Yorgan refused to do so, Durkin paid himself from the settlement proceeds and sent the rest of it to Hernandez, who is now nowhere to be found. There is no evidence in the record that Hernandez provided Durkin any instructions about the disbursement of the settlement proceeds to Yorgan that were contrary to the assignment she executed in favor of Yorgan. Accordingly, Durkin had notice of this assignment, expressly created by his client.
¶ 58. An assignment of an interest in the settlement proceeds from a personal injury claim may be made by a written contract. Riegleman v. Krieg, 2004 WI App 85, ¶ 25, 271 Wis. 2d 798, 679 N.W.2d 857. Unless there is some statutory or common law prohibition, the terms of the assignment control its effect. See id. When the terms are plain and unambiguous, we construe an assignment according to its plain meaning. See Waukesha Concrete Prods. Co. v. Capitol Indem. Corp., 127 Wis. 2d 332, 339, 379 N.W.2d 333 (Ct. App. 1985).
¶ 59. I have located no statutory prohibition against assigning an interest in the settlement proceeds from a personal injury claim, and Durkin does not claim such a prohibition exists. In regard to whether there is a common law prohibition against such assignments, while Riegleman held that such an assignment was created, it did not directly address whether the common law affected its decision. The majority opinion ducks the issue by claiming that the dissent improperly con*698siders the validity of Hernandez's assignment in favor of Yorgan. Majority op., ¶ 13. It asserts that the circuit court did not address an assignment to Yorgan. Id. While the circuit court did not overtly analyze the elements of an assignment, it concluded that Hernandez did assign settlement proceeds to Yorgan when it said:
The Court also holds that Mr. Durkin was bound by the terms of the direction given to him by Mr. [sic] Hernandez; that is, to pay Dr. Yorgan's bill. . . . [T]his Court is satisfied that Dr. Yorgan and Mr. [sic] Hernandez gave actual notice to Mr. Durkin of Dr. Yorgan's interest in the settlement of the proceeds.
Racine County Circuit Court Decision, Case No. 2003SC5353, p. 3.
¶ 60. The majority opinion also takes the dissent to task for analyzing whether Hernandez made an assignment to Yorgan because Yorgan, who appeared pro se, did not brief the issue. The majority opinion asserts:
The proper procedure is to have an issue raised, briefed, and argued by the parties before deciding it. Nevertheless, the dissent reaches out and addresses this issue. ... Unlike the dissent, we think that before this court confronts the issue of the assignability of a tort claim (or its anticipated proceeds) in such a novel manner, the issue should be presented in the case and tested by adversarial briefs of the parties.
Majority op., ¶ 13 n.4. However, the majority opinion overlooks Yorgan's brief. Yorgan contends that Hernandez assigned him sufficient proceeds from the future settlement of her personal injury claim to cover the cost of the medical care Yorgan provided as a result of the personal injuries Hernandez sustained. See Yorgan's *699brief in chief, pp. 8-13; 17-19. In addition, the amicus addressed Hernandez's assignment of the settlement proceeds sufficient to pay Yorgan for the chiropractic services he rendered as a result of the accident:
Once Ms. Hernandez assigned a portion of her settlement proceeds to Dr. Yorgan, Ms. Hernandez had no further interest in that portion of the settlement. Thus, Attorney Durkin, who received notice of the assignment and had no reasonable basis to doubt its validity, was obliged to pay to Dr. Yorgan that portion of the settlement proceeds that were the subject of Ms. Hernandez's assignment.
Brief of Amicus Curiae Wisconsin Chiropractic Association, p. 17. Therefore, the issue of Hernandez's assignment was presented to this court in the course of our review.
¶ 61. Although my research has located no Wisconsin appellate case that directly addressed the issue of whether one who has a claim for personal injuries can assign proceeds from that claim under the common law of Wisconsin, courts from other jurisdictions that have examined this issue have recognized the assign-ability of litigation proceeds under an appropriate agreement. They have distinguished between an older prohibition against assigning a claim for personal injury from the modern policy of permitting the assignment of proceeds from such causes of action. See, e.g., In re Mucelli, 21 B.R. 601, 603-04 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1982) (holding that while a personal injury claim was not assignable and therefore was exempt property, the proceeds of that claim could be assigned and as such were not exempt); In re Musser, 24 B.R. 913, 919 (Bankr. WD. Va. 1982) (holding that patients' assignments to medical providers of settlement or insurance payments to be received in the future were equitable *700assignments); Ala. Farm Bureau Mut. Cas. Ins. Co. v. Anderson, 263 So.2d 149, 154 (Ala. Civ. App. 1972) (concluding that a subrogation clause requiring reimbursement from the proceeds of a personal injury claim to the insurer for health care payments it made was not a prohibited assignment).
¶ 62. In Wisconsin, contrary to the majority rule among our sister states, one may be able to assign an entire personal injury claim, which includes the proceeds received from the claim.3 D'Angelo v. Cornell Paperboard Prods. Co., 19 Wis. 2d 390, 398, 120 N.W.2d *70170 (1963). D'Angelo involved the assignment of a personal injury claim for the payment of $120,000 to an injured worker. Id. at 396-97. When the assignee sued to enforce the assigned personal injury claim, it prayed for $300,000 in damages. Id. at 395. The defendant asserted the assignment was invalid because it was champertous and contrary to public policy. Id. We disagreed and upheld the assignment of the claim, but only to the extent of the payment that had been made to obtain the assignment. Id. at 397. In holding the assignment valid to up to $120,000, we relied in part on the statutory abrogation of the defense of champerty, then found in Wis. Stat. § 331.375 (2003-04),4 now Wis. Stat. § 895.375, id., and on the interest that the as-signee had in the personal injury lawsuit because of the $120,000 payment it made to compensate for the injuries the assignor sustained. Id. at 398. In so limiting the assignment, we tied its validity to its connection with the personal injuries that formed the basis for the lawsuit that the assignee commenced to realize on the assignment. By limiting the assignment in that manner, we concluded that it did not violate public policy. Id. at 398-99.
¶ 63. The reasoning of D'Angelo applies with equal force to the assignment of proceeds that Hernandez executed in favor of Yorgan. Hernandez was injured in an accident, but payment from those responsible for her injuries was not available immediately following the accident, just as was the case in D'Angelo. Hernandez needed a way in which to pay for the medical treatment she required because of the automobile accident, just as the assignor in D'Angelo needed money *702after his injury. Yorgan was willing to provide immediate treatment, but to forgo immediate payment in exchange for an assignment of proceeds from the settlement of Hernandez's claim, just as the assignee was in D'Angelo. Furthermore, Yorgan is not requesting more than the dollar amount of his connection to the accident that formed the basis of Hernandez's personal injury claim because the assignment is capped by the charges for the medical care she required as a result of the accident. In D'Angelo, we confirmed the validity of an assignment made for a similar purpose, up to the amount of the assignee's connection to the assignor's personal injury. We should do no less here.
¶ 64. Upholding Hernandez's assignment of proceeds will assist those who are in need of medical care, but are unable to pay for it at the time that it is provided. Wisconsin permits assignments of proceeds from personal injury claims, in the nature of contingency fee agreements, in order to obtain legal services.5 I see no reason why an assignment to obtain chiropractic services should be precluded here, as the need for the medical care arose out of the same accident as did the need for legal services. Accordingly, I conclude that the plain terms of the agreement between Hernandez and Yorgan assigned an interest to Yorgan in the proceeds received from Hernandez's personal injury claim. Because the assignment is capped by the amount of the charges for the medical care that Hernandez needed and received because of the automobile accident that forms the basis for the settlement Durkin received, it is neither champertous under Wisconsin law, Wis. Stat. § 895.375, nor is it against public policy under Wisconsin law. D'Angelo, 19 Wis. 2d at 398-99.
*703C. Liens
¶ 65. Liens can be equitable, see O'Connell v. O'Connell, 2005 WI App 51, ¶ 13, 279 Wis. 2d 406, 694 N.W.2d 429, contractual, see Yates v. Weinhardt, 224 Wis. 496, 502, 272 N.W. 347 (1937), or statutory, see, e.g., Wis. Stat. § 757.36. An equitable lien can arise when the following elements are present: (1) "a debt, duty or obligation owing by one person to another"; (2) a "res to which that obligation fastens"; and (3) a "written contract!] showing an intention to charge some particular property with the payment of a debt." O'Connell, 279 Wis. 2d 406, ¶ 13 (quoting McIntyre, 68 Wis. 2d at 602).
¶ 66. In O'Connell, a prior owner of land, Gerald, sued to recover a greater share of the proceeds from the sale of the land than the other owners, Emmett and David, received because of additional work Gerald performed, which he claimed increased the sale price. O'Connell, 279 Wis. 2d 406, ¶ 17. The defense to Gerald's claim was that it should have been brought before the property sold. Id., ¶ 18. The court of appeals concluded that Gerald's claim for an equitable lien on the proceeds did not have to be brought until the sale proceeds were received; and therefore, he could seek disproportionate reimbursement from the proceeds pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 842.02. Id. Under Wisconsin law, "an equitable lien relates back to the time it was created" by the parties' conduct. See In re Stoffregen, 206 B.R. 939, 944 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 1997).
¶ 67. Here, all the elements necessary for an equitable lien to attach to the settlement proceeds are present. First, it is undisputed that Hernandez had a debt to Yorgan for the chiropractic services he provided at the time that Hernandez's personal injury claim *704settled. Second, it is undisputed that settlement proceeds were obtained from Hernandez's personal injury claim and that the medical care Yorgan provided as a result of Hernandez's injury in the accident played a part in that settlement. Third, it is undisputed that Hernandez executed a written document that purported to assign her interest in the settlement proceeds and to create a lien on those proceeds, to the extent of the debt for the chiropractic services Yorgan provided.6 Therefore, the only ways in which Yorgan would not have an equitable lien that is legally enforceable against the settlement proceeds is if the lien Hernandez granted to secure payment of the assignment did not attach to the settlement proceeds or it was not lawful in Wisconsin for some other reason.
¶ 68. I begin by examining whether proceeds to be received from a personal injury claim can constitute a "res" to which an equitable lien can attach. In Riegle-man, the court of appeals held that a very similarly stated agreement did not create an equitable lien because "there is no evidence that the personal benefit [Krieg] derived from the [medical] services provided by [the chiropractor] enhanced the value of the insurance settlement proceeds." Riegleman, 271 Wis. 2d 798, ¶ 25 n.4 (quoting In re Harris, 50 B.R. 157, 160 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 1985)). The court of appeals' conclusion is erroneous for two reasons. First, the lien in Riegleman was a contractual lien, as well as an equitable lien, yet the *705court ignored that basis for enforcement.7 Second, an equitable lien arises under Wisconsin law when there is a written contract that demonstrates the parties' intent to satisfy a debt from a particular property. McIntyre, 68 Wis. 2d at 602. Although contribution to an increase in value of the asset to which the lien attaches can be a rationale for creation of an equitable lien, it is not a prerequisite. O'Connor, 279 Wis. 2d 406, ¶ 13.
¶ 69. A review of McIntyre is helpful to my analysis. There, a son and a mother had an agreement that at the time the mother sold her property, the son would receive a sum from the sale proceeds. McIntyre, 68 Wis. 2d at 599. We analyzed whether the son had an equitable lien that could be enforced against subsequent purchasers. Id. at 600-03. We concluded that there was no equitable lien because at the time that the interest was conveyed, the mother did not owe the son for a debt then in existence. Id. at 602. Therefore, an element necessary to creating an equitable lien was not present, and accordingly, there was no enforceable lien. Id. at 602-03.
¶ 70. However, before reaching that conclusion, we discussed some of the arguments advanced by the parties. We concluded that although some liens are controlled by specific statutes that detail how lien priorities are to be ordered and how the right to pursue them arises, Wisconsin courts have recognized that notice of an existing lien given to a third party to whom the property is transferred can make that lien enforceable against the property after the transfer. See id. at 600-01; see also Carefree Homes, Inc. v. Prod. Credit Ass'n of Madison, 81 Wis. 2d 541, 551-54, 260 N.W.2d 769 (1978).
*706¶ 71. In my view, the reasoning in Berkowitz v. Haigood, 606 A.2d 1157, 1159-60 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. 1992),8 is persuasive (concluding that where a patient made a clear and unequivocal assignment and gave a lien on future litigation proceeds to the treating chiropractor, and the attorney had knowledge of that lien, the lien was enforceable).9 In Berkowitz, the attorney who handled the lawsuit did not sign the documents that purported to create an assignment of and a lien against the proceeds from a personal injury claim. Notwithstanding the lack of the attorney's signature, the court held the lien valid by using the following principles to analyze it: (1) settlement proceeds and proceeds derived from a judgment for a personal injury claim are assignable; (2) a valid assignment must contain clear evidence of the intent to transfer the person's rights and " 'the subject matter of the assignment must be described sufficiently to make it capable of being readily identified'(3) "[t]he assignment must be clear and unequivocal in order to be effective as to the obligor"; (4) "the obligor must be properly notified of the existence of the assignment"; and (5) when "notified of the assignment, the obligor is charged with the duty to pay the assignee," thereby giving effect to the lien on the proceeds. Berkowitz, 606 A.2d at 1159 (quotation and citations omitted).
*707¶ 72. All of the factors identified in Berkowitz are present here. First, the settlement proceeds from Hernandez's claim were assignable under Wisconsin law. Second, the plain wording of the contract between Yorgan and Hernandez evinces a clear intent to transfer Hernandez's rights in the settlement proceeds to the extent of the medical care Yorgan provided. Third, the unambiguous language of the assignment was clear and unequivocal. Fourth, Durkin was properly notified of the existence of the assignment and the lien through the copy of the contract he was provided more than two years before he settled Hernandez's lawsuit. Fifth, once notified of the assignment and lien, Durkin became an obligor with respect to his handling of the settlement proceeds.
¶ 73. In my view Yorgan also had a contractual lien. The contractual lien given here is little different from the lien one gives to a bank in the form of a mortgage in exchange for money to purchase a home.10 What is necessary is offer, acceptance, consideration and a clear intent to place a lien on a particular property. Yates, 224 Wis. at 500-02. On its face, the contract between Hernandez and Yorgan satisfies the requirements necessary to creating a contractual lien. Also, Durkin does not claim that any of the elements necessary to creation of a contractual lien are missing here, nor does he assert that he did not have notice of the lien. Accordingly, under either the theory of an equitable lien or the theory that Yorgan had a contrac*708tual lien, Yorgan had a lien against the settlement proceeds that Durkin received.
¶ 74. Durkin was not free to deal with the settlement proceeds as though no lien existed. According to these facts, Yorgan had the right to enforce the lien against the settlement proceeds before Hernandez or Durkin was paid from them. See Stoffregen, 206 B.R. at 944. When Durkin distributed the settlement proceeds to himself and to Hernandez, he did what he had no lawful right to do.11
¶ 75. The majority opinion begins its analysis by looking to Riegleman. It points out a difference between the facts of Riegleman, and those of the case at bar: in Riegleman, the attorney signed the agreement and thereby assented to the terms of the agreement. Majority op., ¶ 14. Here, Durkin did not sign the agreement between Hernandez and Yorgan. However, Riegleman does not suggest that the signature of an attorney is necessary to concluding that an assignment is valid, but rather, it applied a basic contracts analysis that first determined whether the attorney was a party to the contract to pay the chiropractor, and then it addressed the obligations that followed from its initial conclusion. Riegleman, 271 Wis. 2d 798, ¶ 27. And, as explained above, Riegleman relied on Berkowitz where the assignment was not signed by the attorney. Id., ¶ 28. However, the focus of this case is not whether Durkin contracted to pay Yorgan. Rather, the case turns on the legal sufficiency of Hernandez's contract with Yorgan, which assigned him an interest in the settlement pro*709ceeds and gave him a lien on those proceeds to secure payment for the medical care she received.
¶ 76. The majority provides three reasons for concluding that Yorgan's lien was not enforceable. I address them in turn. The majority first concludes that it is inappropriate to permit Yorgan to enforce his lien against Durkin because it was Hernandez, and not Durkin, who was unjustly enriched. Majority op., ¶ 39. The majority opinion places undue weight on that consideration. As we have shown and as the majority acknowledges, there is an accepted three-part test that courts are to apply to conclude that an equitable lien has been established; unjust enrichment is not required to establish an equitable lien. To the contrary, we have on multiple occasions analyzed lien claims and unjust enrichment claims in the same case with separate and distinct reasoning. See Carefree Homes, 81 Wis. 2d at 545-49; see also Rock River Lumber Corp. v. Universal Mortgage Corp. of Wis., 82 Wis. 2d 235, 239-41, 262 N.W.2d 114 (1978); S&M Rotogravure Serv. v. Baer, 77 Wis. 2d 454, 461-63, 252 N.W.2d 913 (1977).
¶ 77. The majority also concludes that enforcing an equitable lien in this matter "would seem to circumvent the general rule against attorney non-liability to third parties." Majority op., ¶ 39.1 disagree. The policy of attorney non-liability to third parties has nothing to do with whether Yorgan has an equitable or contractual lien that is enforceable against the proceeds from Hernandez's settlement. The majority opinion's reliance on this theory is misplaced because allowing Yorgan to enforce a lien against the settlement proceeds that Durkin received is little different from permitting enforcement against settlement proceeds in the hands of an insurance company who has notice of an assignment and lien on them. See Associated Hosp. Serv., Inc. *710v. Milwaukee Auto. Mut. Ins. Co., 33 Wis. 2d 170, 173-74, 147 N.W.2d 225 (1967) (concluding that a contract which provided for repayment of medical expenses paid on behalf of an insured, from any recovery obtained from a third party, was valid). In either case, when the holder of the funds is on notice of a claim to their ownership, it can pay the funds into court and ask for a declaratory judgment sorting out how the proceeds are to be distributed.
¶ 78. Finally, the majority explains that the enforcement of a lien against the proceeds Durkin received would circumvent the legislature's policy choice as reflected in existing statutory lien provisions for health care providers, which do not cover the situation before us. Majority op., ¶ 40. The majority's conclusion is that if the legislature intended a claim like Yorgan's to be enforceable under a lien theory, the legislature would have drafted a statute that addressed such a claim. I disagree that the legislature's creation of the statutory provision that provides for certain liens precludes a broader common law or equitable claim. See Stasey v. Miller, 168 Wis. 2d 37, 60, 483 N.W.2d 221 (1992) (stating that "[t]his court has recognized the existence, independent of statute, of common law charging liens that secure an attorney's payment from the proceeds of a judgment" (footnote and citations omitted)).
¶ 79. As I explained earlier, public policy considerations strongly bolster the outcome that I advance. Yorgan provided needed medical care to a patient who was not able to pay for the care at the moment when she was most in need of care. The need for medical care arose out of the same accident as did the settlement proceeds. As is the case in most personal injury cases, Hernandez did not receive compensation immediately *711after the accident. This was despite the fact that she chose to settle short of trial. Without the promise to pay Yorgan from what she expected to receive from her claim, Hernandez was unable to pay for the care she received. Furthermore, as the majority itself acknowledges, it is not good policy to discourage health care providers from entering into agreements with patients for deferred payment. In a day and age when health care is expensive and options for the uninsured are few, that is a troubling outcome. In my view, other public policy reasons cited by the majority in support of its decision do not outweigh these pressing concerns.
II. CONCLUSION
¶ 80. Because the need for medical care arose out of the same accident as did the settlement proceeds and there is no evidence in the record that Hernandez provided Durkin any instructions about the disbursement of the settlement proceeds to Yorgan that were contrary to the assignment she executed in favor of Yorgan, I conclude that Hernandez validly assigned to Yorgan settlement proceeds from her personal injury claim, up to the amount of the charges for the chiropractic treatments Yorgan provided to Hernandez. I also conclude that Hernandez granted Yorgan a lien to secure payment of the debt for which the assignment was made, and that the lien can be enforced against the settlement proceeds because Yorgan's lien existed before Durkin had any right to retain a portion of the proceeds and Durkin had knowledge of both the assignment and Yorgan's lien. Accordingly, I would permit Yorgan to recover from Durkin to the extent of the settlement proceeds Durkin received or the amount due *712to Yorgan for the chiropractic care he provided to Hernandez, whichever is smaller. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
¶ 81. I am authorized to state that Justice Louis B. Butler, JR. joins this dissent.

 See majority op., ¶ 2.

 Durkin does not contend that the assignment is ambiguous.

 The majority opinion implies that by relying on the reasoning of D'Angelo v. Cornell Paperboard Prods. Co., 19 Wis. 2d 390, 120 N.W.2d 70 (1963), the dissent is contending that Yorgan should be treated as an insurance company that has a contractually based subrogation right. Majority op., ¶ 13 n.4. The majority contends that if that is the case, a hearing under Rimes v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 106 Wis. 2d 263, 316 N.W.2d 348 (1982) may be necessary to determine whether Hernandez has been made whole, before Yorgan can be paid. Majority op., ¶ 13 n.4.
This contention is without legal foundation because the underlying principle of Wisconsin's made whole doctrine is that insurance companies are paid to take a risk of going unpaid. Therefore, when there is a dispute between an injured party who is not fully compensated and an insurance company that is not fully compensated, the burden of nonpayment must fall on the insurance company that was paid to take that risk. Rimes, 106 Wis. 2d at 276 (citing Garrity v. Rural Mut. Ins. Co., 77 Wis. 2d 537, 542, 253 N.W.2d 512 (1977)). Yorgan was not paid to take the risk of nonpayment. Furthermore, as I explain below, I conclude that Hernandez assigned the proceeds of the settlement only to the extent necessary to pay Yorgan for the care he provided as a result of the accident that caused the need for that same medical care. To assign proceeds in excess of that amount would be contrary to public policy, as explained in D'Angelo, 19 Wis. 2d at 397-99.

 All subsequent references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2003-04 version unless otherwise indicated.

 That is how Durkin paid himself in this case.

 The agreement provides:
I farther hereby give [a] hen on my case to Dr. Yorgan against any and ah proceeds of my settlement, judgement or verdict which may be paid to you, my attorney, or myself as a result of the injuries and health problems for which I have been treated or in connection thereto.

 I discuss the contractual nature of Yorgan's lien below.

 The majority opinion begins its discussion with Riegleman v. Krieg, 2004 WI App 85, 271 Wis. 2d 798, 679 N.W.2d 857. Majority op., ¶¶ 10-12. Berkowitz v. Haigood, 606 A.2d 1157 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. 1992), is the New Jersey case relied upon by Riegleman. However, as noted above, the court of appeals did not adequately employ Berkowitz's reasoning.

 See also In re Carroll, 89 B.R. 1007, 1009 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. 1988) (holding that patient's assignment of, and grant of a lien on, proceeds from personal injury claim to treating doctor was enforceable).

 See Citizens Loan & Trust Co. v. Witte, 110 Wis. 545, 545-46, 86 N.W. 173 (1901) (concluding that a mortgagee had a claim to foreclose the lien created by a mortgage on a property that was sold by the mortgagor, even though the property was no longer in the possession of the mortgagor).

 In Riegleman, the court of appeals clearly instructed that when there is a dispute as to how settlement proceeds are to be distributed, the better choice is to seek declaratory judgment from the circuit court. Riegleman, 271 Wis. 2d 798, ¶ 36. Durkin ignored this wise advice at his peril.