## Facts

- Donnie G. Harris was admitted to North Carolina Baptist Hospital on January 20, 1982, and received medical treatment.
- The parties stipulated the medical services were necessary for Donnie Harris’s health and well-being.
- At admission, Vern Dell Harris signed an authorization using her husband’s name followed by “by Vern Dell Harris,” and declined to sign as guarantor.
- The trial court found Vern Dell did not request or anticipate the admission and did not agree to pay for the services.
- The hospital billed $3,303.61 for the services; neither Donnie nor Vern Dell paid.
- The hospital sought to hold Vern Dell liable under the doctrine of necessaries despite no express undertaking by her to pay.

## Issues

1. Whether the doctrine of necessaries permits a creditor to recover a husband’s necessary medical expenses from the wife absent an express agreement by the wife.
2. Whether North Carolina law limits the doctrine of necessaries to a husband’s liability for a wife’s necessaries, or applies it equally to both spouses.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of North Carolina reversed the judgment for Vern Dell Harris and remanded.
- The court held the doctrine of necessaries applies to necessary medical services provided to either spouse.
- The court held a spouse may be liable for the other spouse’s necessary medical expenses even without an express promise or guaranty.
- The court overruled Presbyterian Hospitals v. McCartha to the extent it conflicted with the sex-neutral application of the doctrine.

## Legal Principles

- Under North Carolina’s doctrine of necessaries, liability for necessary medical expenses may arise from the marital relationship, not from an express contract.
- The doctrine applies equally to both spouses; either spouse may be responsible for the other’s necessary medical expenses.
- A prima facie case against the non-recipient spouse requires proof that:
  - medical services were provided to the recipient spouse;
  - the services were necessary for the recipient spouse’s health and well-being;
  - the parties were married when the services were provided; and
  - the charges remain unpaid.
- Refusal to sign as guarantor does not, by itself, bar recovery under the doctrine if the prima facie elements are established.

## Conclusion

North Carolina’s highest court held that necessary medical expenses may be collected from either spouse under the doctrine of necessaries without an express undertaking, and it remanded for further proceedings under the clarified, spouse-neutral rule.


N.C. Baptist Hosps., Inc. v. Harris, 319 N.C. 347, 354 S.E.2d 471 (N.C. 1987)