Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_08-cv-04159/USCOURTS-cand-4_08-cv-04159-16/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 42:1395 HHS: Adverse Reimbursement Review

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

WILLIA PUGH, et al.,

Plaintiffs, No. C 08-4159 PJH

v. ORDER

DOCTORS MEDICAL CENTER, et al.,

Defendants.

_______________________________/

The court has reviewed the supplemental trial briefs and proposed instructions

submitted by the parties, and finds that they raise more questions than they answer

requiring even further briefing. The parties shall submit supplemental briefs addressing the

following questions: 

(1) For more than a year the operative complaint, the first amended complaint

(“FAC”), has contained a cause of action for negligence per se and has omitted a cause of

action directly under EMTALA. Given the motions to dismiss, the motions for summary

judgment and the motion to amend, the parties and the court have expended considerable

time and resources litigating this claim. Now, one week before the scheduled trial date,

plaintiffs first raise the possibility that the cause of action for negligence per se, based on

the violation of EMTALA, is not in actuality a claim brought under a theory of negligence per

se, or a claim alleging negligence, but rather a claim simply alleging violation of EMTALA. 

Thus, the first question the parties must address is whether plaintiffs should even be

permitted to proceed with this claim under their new theory;

Case 4:08-cv-04159-PJH Document 103 Filed 04/27/10 Page 1 of 2
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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(2) Second, the separately proposed jury instructions raise the question whether

a violation of EMTALA requires proof of the intentional denial of hospital services, or

whether evidence of denial of services is by itself sufficient;

(3) Third, the parties should address whether the action by a non-employee of a

hospital – i.e., a contract employee such as Dr. Johnson – is sufficient to create liability for

the hospital under EMTALA, and if so under what theory; and 

(4) Fourth, the parties should address whether emotional distress damages, the

only damages potentially available to plaintiff Tommie Pugh, flow from a violation of

EMTALA.

The parties shall support their arguments with citations to case or statutory

authority. 

In view of the need for additional briefing, Dr. Johnson’s request to sever the trial of

the claim asserted against him from the claim asserted against Doctors Medical Center is

GRANTED. The trial date is VACATED as to the claim alleged by plaintiff Tommie Pugh

against Doctors Medical Center, and the trial will proceed on May 3, 2010, as to plaintiff

Willia Pugh’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress against Dr. Johnson, unless

Dr. Johnson advises the court on April 28, 2010 that he is no longer interested in severance

and would prefer a later trial along with Doctors Medical Center. The court will reschedule

the trial of the EMTALA claim once the above-described issues have been resolved. 

Doctors Medical Center shall file the opening brief by May 11, 2010, plaintiff Tommie Pugh

shall file an opposition brief by May 25, 2010, and any reply shall be filed by June 1, 2010. 

The court will contact the parties should a hearing be necessary and in any event, a further

case management conference will be held to schedule a date for trial/

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: April 27, 2010 ______________________________

PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON

United States District Judge

Case 4:08-cv-04159-PJH Document 103 Filed 04/27/10 Page 2 of 2