Medic Ambulance Service v. Solano Emergency Medical Services Cooperative
Appellant Medic Ambulance Service, Inc. (Medic) had a contract (the Agreement) with respondent Solano Emergency Medical Services Cooperative (SEMSC), a government agency, that gave Medic the exclusive right to provide advanced life support (ALS) ambulance services in a specified geographical area. The Agreement obligated SEMSC to enforce Medic’s exclusivity rights, and provided for a contractual claims procedure in the event of a dispute. After Medic learned that some ALS ambulance transports were being handled by competing ambulance services, the parties engaged in informal communications and negotiations regarding the enforcement of Medic’s exclusivity rights. These efforts were unsuccessful, and Medic sued for breach of contract.
SEMSC demurred on the basis of Medic’s failure to follow the contractual claims procedure. Medic amended its complaint to allege that SEMSC was estopped from relying on Medic’s failure to comply with the contractual claims procedure as a bar to Medic’s damages claims. The trial court found Medic’s estoppel allegations insufficient, and sustained SEMSC’s renewed demurrer without leave to amend. On this appeal, we hold Medic’s fourth amended complaint pleaded sufficient facts to support Medic’s estoppel claim. We therefore reverse, and remand for further proceedings.
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