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LeBlanc v. Friedman1/29/2003
ntracts, agreements, damages of any and all claims, demands and liabilities whatsoever, of every name and nature, which we now have or might have, upon or against said Brigham & Women's Hospital, Elizabeth Stewart, M.D., Andrew Friedman, M.D. and Richard Wolf Medical Instruments Corp. more especially from all claims arising out of any and all personal injuries, damages, expenses and any loss or damage whatsoever resulting from care and treatment rendered to Diane Leblanc on or about March 16, 1992 by Andrew Freidman , M.D. and Elizabeth Stewart, M.D." (emphasis added)
This language, by its plain meaning, disposes "'of all claims and demands arising out of any transactions between' the parties." Schuster v. Baskin, 354 Mass. 137, 140 (1968). It is, in other words, a general release. Id. Any exceptions to such a general release must be specifically detailed in the release itself to remain valid. Id. at 140-141. While this release goes on (at great length) to highlight certain included claims, it makes no exceptions. All the plaintiffs' claims against the defendant are therefore discharged.
The text following the phrase "more especially" does nothing to alter this fact. The phrase "more especially" means, in this context, "including, but not limited to," and is often used within a general release to highlight the particular incident or claim that gave rise to the parties' dispute. See Spritz v. Lishner, 355 Mass. 162, 163 (1969); Tupper v. Hancock, supra at 105, 106-108 & n.1; Glendale Coal Co. v. Nesson, 312 Mass. 293, 294 (1942). Such specific references do not limit the scope of the general releases that contain them.
Even if the release's opening section left any doubt as to its intended breadth, the final section of the document makes the parties' intentions transparent. It states: "It is the intention of both parties hereto that this Release shall resolve any and all claims of any kind nature which have against [the four parties], including specifically, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, claims for injuries currently existing but unknown to either or both of the parties hereto." This text, which makes no reference to any particular incident of care, dispels any possibility that the release was intended to be limited in scope.
The language of the release leaves the plaintiffs without a valid claim. The court, in order to avoid what it apparently perceives as a harsh result, reads limits into a release that contains none. This is an example of a hard case making bad law. I must, therefore, respectfully dissent.
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