Lopez v. Dodd
Plaintiffs sued defendants for medical negligence and loss of consortium following Plaintiff’s surgery in July 2001. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Lodi Memorial Hospital (the Hospital) in January 2005, concluding that plaintiffs’ action was barred by the one-year statute of limitations. Plaintiffs did not appeal from the judgment entered on that ruling. Five months later, Dr. Dodd successfully moved for summary judgment, arguing: (1) the judgment in favor of the Hospital applied equally to him under principles of collateral estoppel; and (2) there was no triable issue of fact with regard to plaintiffs’ actual and constructive knowledge of their injury more than one year before they gave notice of intent to file their complaint.
On appeal, plaintiffs contend the judgment in favor of the Hospital is no bar to their action against Dr. Dodd and the trial court erred in taking judicial notice of the truth of its earlier finding. Plaintiffs also argue a triable issue of material fact exists as to when the cause of action accrued against Dr. Dodd. Even if the court were to agree with plaintiffs that there is a triable issue of fact regarding the time of discovery, court concluded the court was bound by its earlier ruling that plaintiffs’ claims were barred by the one-year statute of limitations. Judgment Affirmed.
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