Fill and Sign the Dallas County Hospital Specialized Care is Close to Home Form

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ________________ COUNTY, _________________ _________________________ , APPELLANT NO. ______________ _________________________, BY ITS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, _________________________, APPELLEE SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION _________________________ County Hospital moves for summary judgment, and in support of the motion, would show the Court the following: 1. The hospital owned and leased an office to Dr. _________________________ by a written lease agreement for five years, with the lease terminating on _______________, 20______. Upon termination of the lease term, the hospital made a demand on _________________________ to vacate the office, but he continued to occupy the office for an additional _________ months, ______ days until he finally vacated the office on __________, 20_____. _________________________ County Hospital is entitled to judgment against _________________________ as a "hold- over tenant or trespasser", pursuant to __________ Code Ann. Sec. _________ and the facts are supplied by _________________________'s Rule ______ admissions. 2. Dr. _________________________ has admitted the following facts in response to requests for admissions: (a) _________________________ County Hospital owns the office located at _________________________ (b) The office was purchased and leased pursuant tolocal and private legislation, specifically Senate Bill ___________ (Ch. No________ )_________________. (c) The _________________________ County Board of Supervisors and the _________________________ Board of A1derman passed resolutions authorizing the purchase and (f) Upon termination of the lease term, _________________________ County Hospital made a written demand on _________________________ to vacate the office. (g) _________________________ refused to voluntarily leave the office, and the hospital petitioned the _________________________ County Justice Court for an order of eviction. (h) The _________________________ County Justice Court issued an order of eviction to _________________________ and during an appeal of that order, _________________________ vacated the office on ________________, 20____. (i) _________________________ possessed the office after the term of the lease expired on ________________, 20___, for an additional period of _______ months, __ days until ________, 20____. (j) _________________________ never paid any rent to the hospital during the ______ months, _______ days he possessed the office as a hold-over tenant. (See _________________________'s Responses to ___________________ County Hospital's Requests for Admission, numbers 1-14', copy attached as Exhibit "A" to Motion). 3. _________________________ County Hospital previously filed suit against Dr. _________________________ to recover rent in arrears during the lease term, and received a judgment against _________________________ in Cause No__________ in the _________________________ County Circuit Court. (See attached copy of judgment - Exhibit "B" to Motion). The amount sued for in that lawsuit, and the judgment awarded, was the past due rent incurred during the term of the lease, which terminated on _________, 20___, and pre-judgment interest from the date of termination of the lease term. (See affidavits of _________________________ -- attached as Exhibits "C" and "D" to Motion). The former lawsuit did not seek recovery against _________________________ for the statutory double-rent penalty owed by _________________________ as a hold-over tenant or trespasser, after termination of the lease term. (Id.) 4. ____________ Code Ann. Sec. __________________ provides that:the landlord double the rent which he should otherwise have said to be levied, sued for, and recovered as the single rent before the giving of notice could be. And double rent shall continue to be said during all the time the tenant shall so continue in possession. (emphasis supplied). _________________________ was lawfully notified by the hospital to vacate the premises, but failed and refused to do so _______________, ____________, _____ months and _______days after termination of the lease term. The monthly payment under the lease was $__________ per month. The proper measure of damages would be double rent multiplied by the period of time in which _________________________ occupied the office as a hold-over tenant or trespasser after termination of the lease. Damages would therefore be $________________ (______________). 5. _________________________'s argument that the hospital's lease of the office was a proprietary rather than a governmental function, and that the one year statute of limitations in _____________ Code Ann. Sec. ________________, should bar some portion of the hospital's claim, has been rejected by the ____________________ Supreme Court. __________________ County Hospital in a community hospital owned and operated by the City of _________________________ and _________________________ County, and the office was expressly purchased and leased to recruit doctors to this area. (See affidavit of _________________________; Exhibit "E" to Motion). As such, no statute of limitations Is available to bar any part of the claim made by the hospital in this case. _____________ Code Ann. Sec. _________________ (_____________);The operation of a hospital and related matters is a governmental function and not a proprietary function. The one year statute of limitations in ___________ Code Ann. Sec. ______________ is not a defense to the hospital's claim for the statutory double rent penalty. 6. _________________________ denies that _________________________ only used a portion of the office, or that it acquiesced to less than full rental payments, the doctrine of collateral estoppel precludes _________________________ from relitigating issues that have already been decided adversely to him in the prior judgment rendered in ___________________ County Circuit Cause No. ___________________. The prior judgment held that _________________________ was liable jointly and severally for the entire past due rent under the terms of the lease contract. Further, as a matter of common law contract principles, this Court would likewise conclude that _________________________ has joint and several liability under the lease agreement, even if the issue had not already been decided adversely against him. 17 Am.Jur.2d, Contracts, 5298 at pp. 717-718 ("An obligation by ... two or more persons is a joint obligation ... unless distinct words of severance are used to produce a several responsibility. If an instrument worded in the singular is executed by several parties, the obligation is a joint and several one."). The lease contract does not contain any language which would limit _________________________'s obligation to anything less than the full monthly payment required by the lease agreement. 7. _________________________ also vaguely argues that the hospital should be estopped from recovering the Statutory double rent penalty in this lawsuit, because it could have sued for that statutory remedy in the earlier __________ County Circuit Court suit, when the hospital sued for the rent in arrears owed during the lease term. This legal contention has also been rejected. 49 Am.Jur.2d, Landlord and Tenant, 5633 at p. 606 ("Accordingly, under the theory that a holding over at the expiration of a definite term and each holding over thereafter constitutes a new term separate and distinct from hospital has split a cause of action, but in fact, the first lawsuit was for the rent in arrears owed through the date of _________, 20___, and the instant action is for the statutory double penalty owed from __________, 20____ through _________, 20_____. These are two separate causes of action, one based on a contract and the other on a statute, and for two separate periods of time. 8. Finally, _________________________ appears to be arguing that the doctrine of laches or estoppel would apply because of the hospital's failure to file this lawsuit sooner. However, the doctrine of laches is inapplicable where a claim has not been barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Further, the doctrine of laches is inapplicable to claims by the state government or its other agencies or officials. WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, _________________________ County Hospital moves the Court to grant summary judgment, for the hospital in the principal sum of $_____________________, plus pre-judgment interest at ______% per annum from _________, 20__, court costs, and interest on the judgment at the highest rate allowed by law. THIS the _____ day of _______________, 20_____. Respectfully submitted, _________________________ COUNTY HOSPITAL By its attorneys