Ryan v Branko Prpa MD LLC, No. 22-1536 (7th Cir. 2022)
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Ryan sought worker’s compensation and entered into a settlement with his employer, calling for "$150,000 to Rodney Ryan, minus attorney fees and costs listed below; $400,000 to the Trust Account of Fortune & McGillis for disbursement to medical providers and lienholders, it being understood that from any balance remaining Mr. Ryan shall receive 80% and Fortune & McGillis shall receive 20%.” Fortune, Ryan’s law firm, received $30,000 in fees. The employer agreed to fund a Medicare Set Aside for Ryan’s future medical expenses. A state administrative law judge approved the Settlement.
Weeks later, before any of the $400,000 was distributed to his doctors, Ryan filed for bankruptcy and attempted to exempt the $400,000 from the estate, citing Wisconsin Statutes 102.27(1), which says no “claim for [worker’s] compensation, or compensation awarded, or paid, [may] be taken for the debts of the party entitled thereto.” Ryan owed more than $800,000 in unpaid medical bills. His medical creditors cited Section 102.26(3)(b)(2), “[a]t the request of the claimant[,] medical expense[s], witness fees[,] and other charges associated with the claim may be ordered paid out of the amount awarded.” The district court and Sixth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court holding that Ryan could not exempt the $400,000. The Order created an express trust in favor of the doctors with Fortune as trustee. There were also "grounds to impose a constructive trust because allowing Ryan to keep the $400,000 would have amounted to unjust enrichment.”
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