Can a Private Practice doctor's office sue for a stop payment on a check?

[Arch]

About six months ago, I had a procedure done. At that time, I made a verbal agreement with the doctor's office that I would make monthly payments to pay off the debt. Recently, the office has changed management, and now all payment is due at the time of the procedure. Last week, I went in for a followup appointment and the receptionist explained to me that I would need to pay for my new procedure before it was performed. I advised her that I could not afford that and that I would be changing doctors. However, the conversation turned bad. Besides the money they wanted me to pay for the new procedure, I was still in debt to them for the old procedure. In anger, I wrote a check (for the old procedure) that I knew would not clear my bank and walked out. On my way home, I called my bank and stopped payment on the check. I wrote my doctor's office a letter explained what I did. Today, I received a call from the doctor's office stating they were suing me for stopping payment on a check in which the services had already been rendered.

Can they really sue me for this?

 

[presutin]

Yeap and depending on the state, they can also recover damages and penalties. They can take you to small claims court and sue you for the maximum amount allowed in your state if you don't pay for the check and the penalties.

 

[Duranie]

Yes, you still owe them the money.

 

[Arch]

I live in Nebraska. Do you know anything specific about this state?

 

[Arch]

I still intend on paying them the money, but only on the payment plan that we verbally have...which is once a month.

 

[presutin]

For an agreement to exist, there has to be a meeting of the minds. Yours is one sided with this new management because they have not agreed to what your previous arrangement was, consequently, the agreement no longer exists; and yes, in Nebraska they can recover damages and penalties.

 

[dee_dub]

I would disagree about the meeting of the minds - when new management took over, they took over subject to the existing arrangements for paying accounts receivables. The OP was entitled to rely on the agreement he had entered into for paying his account.

That being said, the OP scuttled the agreement when he agreed to pay in full immediately and stopped payment on the cheque, and is now liable for whatever he's liable for in Nebraska.

 

[presutin]

When the agreement is done by a doctor and not management and when there is a change in management, there has to be a meeting of the minds for an agreement to continue to be enforceable. That is a basic fundamental of contract law. Sorry Dee...

 

[dee_dub]

The OP says the original agreement was with the office, not with a doctor. I guess it is is ambiguous. Even if it was with a doctor, he might have an implied agency/estoppel argument. Anyways, he winds up in the same boat.

 

[presutin]

Deester - what the OP wants to know is if she can be sued by the doctor's office. I think she has realized that, yes, in nebraska they can do that as well as adding fees and penalties. Good discussion!