Village at the Greene v. Smith

Citations

• 2020 Ohio 4088

Syllabus

In an action by a nursing facility to recover the amount of a resident's unpaid bills, the trial court did not err by entering summary judgment in favor of the resident's son, who signed the contract with the nursing facility as resident's \representative\ and who resigned as the resident's attorney-in-fact prior to judgment. In executing the contract, the son expressly declined to voluntarily assume personal responsibility for the resident's charges. The nursing facility acknowledged that the son executed the contract pursuant to a power of attorney granted by the resident, and it did not plead or demonstrate that the son was subject to personal liability as attorney-in-fact under the statutory exceptions at R.C. 1337.092(B). Furthermore, the nursing facility's attempt to hold the son personally liable for the resident's expenses based on the son's alleged breach of contract terms requiring the son to pay those expenses from the resident's assets and his alleged failure to cooperate in securing Medicaid benefits contravened federal and state law prohibiting the imposition of personal liability on those bases. Judgment affirmed.