# HCA Health Servs. of Tex. Inc. v. Emery

Supreme Court of Texas, No. 24-1001

**HCA Health Servs. of Tex. Inc. v. Emery, No. 24-1001, is before the Supreme Court of Texas. Key issue: The Court denied two petitions for review in a health care liability case in which the court of appeals held a plaintiff's incomplete pre-suit medical authorization still tolled limitations for 75 days, and Justice Boyd noted his dissent from the denial without a written opinion.**

Practice areas: medical liability, civil procedure

## Key issues

- The Court denied two petitions for review in a health care liability case in which the court of appeals held a plaintiff's incomplete pre-suit medical authorization still tolled limitations for 75 days, and Justice Boyd noted his dissent from the denial without a written opinion.
- The petitions asked the Court to clarify Hampton v. Thome's exceptions for authorizations so deficient or bad-faith that they count as no authorization, in a case where the plaintiff listed only her OB/GYN and omitted the bariatric-surgery providers.

## Factual History
Avery Allison developed Wernicke's encephalopathy after a bariatric procedure performed in Mexico, and sued the treating providers, including Dr. Santosh Kale, Dr. George Davis and HCA-affiliated Kingwood Medical Center. On September 28, 2020 her side served Kingwood with a notice of claim and a signed medical authorization that identified her OB/GYN as the only provider she saw in the previous five years, and did not name the bariatric surgeon, the facility or other providers connected with the injuries (HCA Petition for Review, PDF pp. 8, 13).

## Procedural History
Allison and Christopher Emery, individually and as next friend, sued on December 21, 2020, and the defendants moved for summary judgment that limitations had run because the deficient authorization did not toll limitations for 75 days under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 74.051(c); the trial court agreed. The Ninth Court of Appeals reversed and remanded in a memorandum opinion after the Court's decision in Hampton v. Thome, holding the authorization was not grossly deficient (2024 WL 2972772). The defendants petitioned for review in January 2025, and on June 20, 2025 the Court denied both petitions, with Justice Boyd noting his dissent; the Court later denied rehearing on September 12, 2025 (HCA Petition for Review, PDF pp. 8, 13-16; Docket).

## Issues Presented
Whether an authorization that admittedly withheld known key providers in bad faith is grossly deficient under Thome and therefore fails to toll limitations under § 74.051(c) (HCA Petition for Review, PDF p. 10).

## Legal Arguments
**HCA Health Services and Dr. Kale (Petitioners):** the plaintiff consciously withheld the bariatric surgeon, facility and other providers, which under Thome is bad faith that makes the authorization no authorization, and chapter 74 does not let plaintiffs pick whom to disclose. **Allison and Emery (Respondents):** the authorization was imperfect but sufficient to toll limitations and the constitutional challenges to chapter 74 favor them (HCA Petition for Review, PDF pp. 10-11, 16).

## Stated Reasons the Court Should Take the Case
Not applicable—the petition was denied.

## Practice Area Tags
medical-liability, civil-procedure

## Procedural Posture/Vehicle
Two petitions for review from the Ninth Court of Appeals after summary judgment reversed; both denied June 20, 2025.

## Amicus Involvement
None noted

## Court's Reasoning
The Court issued no opinion explaining the denial, and Justice Boyd did not write to explain his dissent.

## Disposition
Petitions for review denied; Justice Boyd noted his dissent from the denial (June 20, 2025 orders).

## Vote Breakdown
Justice Boyd noted his dissent from the denial of the petitions for review without a written opinion (June 20, 2025 orders).

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Source: The SCOTX Report, https://scotxreport.com/cases/24-1001. AI-generated summary of the Court's opinion, orders and the parties' briefs, with pin cites to the page of each document; verify against the Court's own documents at search.txcourts.gov.