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Gallegos v. Southwest Community Health Services3/8/1994
APODACA, Judge. [117 NM Page 483] Plaintiff appeals from a judgment entered in favor of Defendants after a jury trial of Plaintiff's medical malpractice suit. In the direct appeal, Plaintiff argues that the trial
court: (1) abused its discretion in granting twenty peremptory challenges to all Defendants; (2) erred in denying Plaintiff additional peremptory challenges, and that SCRA 1986, 1-038(E) (Repl. 1992) violates her right to equal protection of the laws; and (3) erred in not granting a new trial based on juror misconduct. In the cross-appeal, three of the four groups of Defendants argue that the trial court abused its discretion in denying their motions for an award of costs. Defendant Southwest Community Health Services is not involved in the cross-appeal.
We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting twenty peremptory challenges to Defendants and in refusing to grant a new trial based on juror misconduct. We also hold that SCRA 1-038(E) does not authorize the granting of additional peremptory challenges to equalize the total number of such challenges granted to all plaintiffs and all defendants, and that the rule is not unconstitutional. Finally, we hold that the trial court's denial of Defendants' motions for costs was not an abuse of discretion. We thus affirm the trial court on all issues raised on both the appeal and cross-appeal.
BACKGROUND
Laura Candice Gallegos (Plaintiff or Laura) was born on February 26, 1981. It became apparent shortly after her birth that she was not a normal baby. At time of trial, Laura was ten years old and functioning at the level of a one- to three-month-old child. Laura, by and through her parents, Eugene and Aurora Gallegos, sued the nine individuals or entities that provided medical care during Mrs. Gallegos' pregnancy and Laura's delivery: C. Colbert Bollinger, M.D., Mrs. Gallegos's primary obstetrician, and his practice association, OB-GYN Associates, Ltd. (collectively referred to as Dr. Bollinger); Southwest Community Health Services, doing business as Presbyterian Hospital Center (the Hospital), the hospital that conducted some prenatal tests and in which Mrs. Gallegos delivered Laura; Samuel Smith, M.D., Crosby Eaton, M.D., Frederick Cohn, M.D., and Milton Godinez, M.D. (collectively referred to as the Prenatal Defendants), the obstetricians who worked for OB-GYN Associates and who saw Mrs. Gallegos occasionally during her pregnancy; and Dr. Kusum Prabhakar, the anesthesiologist who saw Mrs. Gallegos briefly during her delivery, and her practice association, Anesthesia Medical Consultants, formally known as Albuquerque Anesthesia Services, Inc. (collectively referred to as Dr. Prabhakar). For ease of reference, we will refer in this opinion to the four groups of defendants as Dr. Bollinger, the Hospital, the Prenatal Defendants, and Dr. Prabhakar.
Discovery and pretrial practice in this case took several years; the trial consumed seven weeks. The jury returned with a verdict in favor of all Defendants. Plaintiff filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied. Defendants filed a motion for an award of costs totaling $127,112.94 against Plaintiff. The trial court found the costs to be reasonable and necessary, but ordered all parties to bear their own costs. Additional facts will be discussed as relevant.
Discussion
I. Peremptory Challenges.
Before trial, Dr. Prabhakar filed a motion asking that she be allowed five peremptory challenges during jury selection. The trial court heard argument on Dr. Prabhakar's motion and all the other Defendan
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