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Green v. North Arundel Hospital Association Inc.5/26/1999
REPORTED
Darwin Green (Darwin), a disabled minor child, through his parents and next friends, Teresa Johnson and Charles Johnson (appellants), instituted a medical malpractice action against North Arundel Hospital Association, Inc. (NAH); Richard T. Fields, M.D.; Stewart P. Axelbaum, M.D.; and Harshad R. Mody, M.D. (appellees). Appellants claimed that appellees breached the applicable standard of care by failing to diagnose an alleged shunt malfunction in Darwin on August 18, 1988, and that a proper diagnosis would have prevented the child's subsequent injuries that have left him in a chronic vegetative state.
Appellants filed their original complaint in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and named only NAH and Dr. Fields as defendants. Dr. Fields resides and carries on business solely in Anne Arundel County; NAH conducts business solely in Anne Arundel County. On March 20, 1992, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Richard T. Rombro ruled that appellants had filed their suit in the wrong venue and transferred the action to the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County.
The Anne Arundel County Circuit Court set a trial date for June 1994. On May 17, 1994, appellants moved to stay the Anne Arundel County proceedings because they wanted to add two new defendants to the case - Drs. Mody and Axelbaum. As required by title 3, subtitle 2A, of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article of the Maryland Code (1998 Repl. Vol & Supp. 1998), appellants initially filed their claims against Drs. Mody and Axelbaum in the Health Claims Arbitration Office on May 20, 1994. After the parties agreed to waive arbitration in December 1995, the arbitration panel chairman signed a transfer order on February 20, 1996, allowing appellants to proceed with their case against Drs. Mody and Axelbaum in circuit court.
Rather than moving to lift the stay in the Anne Arundel County action by adding Drs. Mody and Axelbaum to that pending case, appellants filed a new complaint in Baltimore City Circuit Court. Appellants' basis for filing in Baltimore City was that Dr. Mody regularly conducted business and maintained his medical office there. In the Baltimore City complaint, appellants not only named Drs. Mody and Axelbaum as defendants, but they also set forth claims against NAH and Dr. Fields - the same claims already pending in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. On June 3, 1996, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge David B. Mitchell granted appellees' motion to dismiss and imposed sanctions against appellants.
Meanwhile, on February 22, 1996, appellants made a motion in the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to transfer that pending action back to Baltimore City. On August 2, 1996, Circuit Court Judge Lawrence H. Rushworth held a hearing on the motion. At the time of that hearing, neither Dr. Mody nor Dr. Axelbaum had been added to the Anne Arundel County action. Judge Rushworth denied the motion to transfer at the Conclusion of the August 2nd hearing.
On August 9, 1996, appellants amended their original complaint by naming Drs. Mody and Axelbaum as defendants in the Anne Arundel County action. Dr. Mody was served with process on August 19, 1996. The record is unclear as to when Dr. Axelbaum was served with process, but he filed an answer to the amended complaint on September 17, 1996; Dr. Mody filed his answer two days later. At no time after August 9, 1996, did appellants renew their motion to transfer the case back to Baltimore City.
On October 30, 1996, Judge Rushworth bifurcated the case on the issues of liability and damages. Subsequently, the trial Judge held a hearing on appellees' motion in limine to exclude Darwin from the courtroom during
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