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Longwell v. Jefferson Parish Hospital Service Dist. No. 111/29/2005
nse to this circumstance. We also reiterated that the jurisprudence has set forth a number of factors to be considered in weighing the interest of the litigants against that of the courts. Two of those, applicable here, concern the relationship between the adjudicated and unadjudicated claims, and whether the need for review might be mooted by future developments in the case.
Here the judgment appears to be one simply holding that the hospital negligently destroyed records which by statute they were required to maintain for three years. The unadjudicated related issues are first whether that negligence caused harm to the plaintiffs, and if so what were their damages. We see no reason why the partial judgment should be appealable now because neither plaintiffs nor the hospital can suffer any harm in adjudicating the remainder of the issues before seeking relief on appeal. As to mootness, it may well be that there will be a determination that the lost images had no detrimental effect on plaintiffs' malpractice claim against either the hospital or the treating physician, in which case there will be nothing to review. Considering these circumstances, we rule that the judicial policy against piecemeal litigation is not outweighed by any considerations of justice to the litigants, and that the trial judge erred in certifying this partial summary judgment as appealable.
For the foregoing reasons we vacate the certification of appealability issued by the trial judge, and dismiss and remand for further proceedings.
APPEAL DISMISSED AND REMANDED.
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