Smallwood v. Central Peninsula General Hospital, Inc.

OPINION

BOLGER, Justice pro tem.

I. INTRODUCTION

John L. Smallwood obtained an injunction requiring Central Peninsula General Hospital to discontinue its practice of "balance billing" certain Medicaid patients, and the hospital complied by implementing a new billing system. But when Smallwood did not dispute the hospital's compliance, the superior court erroneously concluded that he had abandoned his balance billing claim. Smallwood appealed the order that was based on this erroneous conclusion, but he died while this appeal was pending. The superior court then dismissed this case, even though…