Shewry

Defendant Mary Wooten, as personal representative of the estate of Merlee Dowe, appeals the judgment entered in favor of plaintiff Sandra Shewry, Director of the State Department of Health Care Services (the Department). After a bench trial, the trial court awarded judgment to the Department on its claim, filed pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 14009.5, for reimbursement of expenditures on health care services provided to Dowe before she died. The trial court awarded judgment to the Department on the ground that its claim was timely because Wooten failed to provide notice of Dowe’s death to the Department as required by Probate Code section 9202.

Wooten contends that (1) the trial court should have barred the Department’s evidence on the issue of notice under the doctrine of collateral estoppel; (2) she was prejudiced by the admission of the Department’s evidence regarding notice; (3) the trial court misapplied the law and ignored applicable sections of the Probate Code governing the Department’s claim; (4) the trial court was predisposed to rule in the Department’s favor because it is a state agency. Having thoroughly considered each of appellant’s…