Litigation

Order Granting Summary Judgment Against One Defendant Out of Seven Not a Final Order, Court of Appeals Holds

By H. William Allen et al.

The appellants in Castleberry v. Fohn, No. CA07-1040, a Ouachita County medical malpractice case, fell victim to the final order rule when the Arkansas Court of Appeals dismissed their case. The plaintiff, Donald Castleberry, who was suing on behalf of the estate of Bobby L. Castleberry, filed a medical malpractice action against the Ouachita County Medical Center, Dr. Charles H. Fohn, Dr. Charles H. Fohn, M.D., P.A., and six John Doe defendants. Ouachita Circuit Judge David Guthrie dismissed the suit as to Dr. Fohn and his professional association on the basis of the statute of limitations. The order dismissing the Fohn defendants did not cover the Doe defendants or Ouachita County Medical Center. In a per curiam opinion, the en banc Court of Appeals quickly held that the order was not appealable.

Full post as published by Arkansas Business Litigation Blog on March 07, 2008 (boomark / email).