Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula v. Aetna Life Insurance

ORDER GRANTING-IN-PART DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Two years ago, a patient insured by Defendant Aetna Life Insurance Company sought treatment on three separate occasions from Plaintiff Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. Aetna verified that the patient was eligible for coverage, but refused CHOMP’s demand that it pay 100 percent of the charges billed. *1045 CHOMP then filed this suit against Aetna, alleging that Aetna’s refusal to pay $167,704.11 plus interest constituted, among other things, negligent misrepresentation, breach of implied contract and unfair competition. 1 Aetna now seeks summary judgment on all but one of CHOMP’s claims. With certain exceptions noted below, the court agrees with Aetna that the causes of action at issue do not concern disputed material facts and must be resolved in Aetna’s favor as a matter of law.

I.

Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a), summary judgment is appropriate when “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Material facts are those that may affect the outcome of the case. 2 A dispute as to a material fact is genuine if there is sufficient…