Opinion ID: 1607598
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: whether the trial court erred in dismissing claims against newly-named defendants drs. austin, wright, sullivan, cleveland medical clinic, ltd, and cleveland medical clinic, pa, which were added as named defendants in the plaintiff's third amended complaint, replacing the previously-unnamed defendants john does 1-5.

Text: ś 41. This assignment of error involves the trial court's ruling as to the newly-named defendants in the third amended complaint. Price filed this third amended complaint more than two years after the diagnosis of her husband's tumor; thus, if the substituted parties did not relate back to John Does 1-5, Price's complaint was time-barred as to the newly-named defendants. The defendants in this third amended complaint, filed July 26, 2006, were as follows: Steven Clark, M.D.; Samuel Duff Austin, M.D.; Bennie Barnette Wright, Jr., M.D.; Estate of Barry Stephen Sullivan, M.D.; Cleveland Medical Alliance, LLP; Cleveland Medical Clinic, PLLC; Cleveland Medical Clinic, Ltd.; and Cleveland Clinic, P.A. Drs. Austin, Wright, and Sullivan, as well as Cleveland Medical Clinic, Ltd. and Cleveland Clinic, P.A., were added in the third amended complaint in place of John Does 1-5, as set out in the original August 31, 2004, complaint. ś 42. Dr. Clark, Alliance, and Cleveland Medical Clinic, PLLC, argue that, because the original complaint had no effect once dismissed, any amended complaint cannot relate back to the August 31, 2004, original complaint under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 15(c), which allows for changing a party where a previously-named party was mistakenly included in the original complaint. Rule 15(c)(2) makes the following distinction between changing a party and substituting a party: An amendment pursuant to 9(h) is not an amendment changing the party against whom a claim is asserted and such amendment relates back to the date of the original pleading. Miss. R. Civ. P. 15(c)(2). ś 43. The trial court found that, because John Does 1-5 were retained in both the amended and second amended complaints, but eliminated in the third amended complaint, it was clear that Price intended for the newly-named defendants in the third amended complaint to be substituted for John Does 1-5, as opposed to replacing mistakenly-identified parties with the correct parties. Likewise, Price chooses to travel under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 9(h) in support of her argument that the John Does 1-5 were fictitious parties. Rule 9(h) states: When a party is ignorant of the name of an opposing party and so alleges in his pleading, the opposing party may be designated by any name, and when his true name is discovered the process and all pleadings and proceedings in the action may be amended by substituting the true name and giving proper notice to the opposing party. Miss. R. Civ. P. 9(h). As the trial court aptly explained, a Rule 9(h) amendment does not change the party, but supplies the true identity of a party who is already in litigation. The trial court's opinion explained the purpose of Rule 9(h) as follows: It is significant that the word unknown does not appear in MRCP 9(h). Rather the rule speak[s] in terms of a plaintiff being ignorant of the name of an opposing party. Thus, the language of MRCP 9(h) assumes the existence of such a party and the plaintiff's awareness of such existence. It is not the intent of MRCP 9(h) to permit a plaintiff to bring into the litigation defendants whose existence was unknown to the plaintiff at the commencement of the action. The trial court found that, at the time the original complaint was filed, Price neither knew the identities of the parties, nor was she aware of any facts giving rise to any cause of action against such unknown individual or corporate entity; therefore, the trial court did not err in finding that Price's substitution did not comport with the purpose of Rule 9(h). Furthermore, the trial court found that Price did not act with reasonable diligence in identifying these parties. ś 44. The defendants argue that the trial court was correct inasmuch as Price's third amended complaint cannot relate back to her original August 31, 2004, complaint, because she failed to use due diligence in ascertaining the identity of the alleged tortfeasors. Price concedes that in July 2004, she obtained medical records from Cleveland Medical Clinic that dated back to 2001; however, Price argues that Cleveland Medical Clinic, Ltd., Alliance, and Cleveland Medical Clinic, PLLC, were identified ambiguously in the medical records as Cleveland Clinic, thus, according to Price, giving the impression that they were all the same clinic. Price admits that she consulted an expert prior to filing suit; however, upon obtaining more medical records, Price's expert was able to offer an opinion that a referral for an MRI should have been made after Mr. Price became blind in 1989. In support of her argument that Rule 9(h) allows for fictitious parties where a plaintiff is ignorant of the facts giving rise to a cause of action, Price cites Womble v. Singing River Hospital, 618 So.2d 1252 (Miss.1993). In Womble this Court stated: It is a principle of general application, though, that ignorance of the opposing party for fictitious party practice extends beyond mere lack of knowledge of the opposing party's name. Even if the plaintiff knows the true name of the person, he is still ignorant of his name if he lacks knowledge of the facts giving him a cause of action against that person. Id. at 1267. ś 45. On the other hand, the defendants cite Rawson v. Jones, 816 So.2d 367 (Miss. 2001), for the premise that Rule 9(h) requires a plaintiff to pursue reasonably diligent inquiry into the true identities of the fictitious parties through the use of judicial mechanisms such as discovery. Id. at 369 (citing Doe v. Miss. Blood Servs., Inc., 704 So.2d 1016, 1019 (Miss.1997)). The Court in Rawson emphasized that the language of Womble is not to be interpreted as giving potential plaintiffs permission to sit on their rights. Rawson, 816 So.2d at 369. ś 46. The trial court did not err in finding that Price was not reasonably diligent in ascertaining the facts that gave rise to her claims against the substituted defendants and that she thus was not entitled to the shield of Rule 9(h). Price received medical records pertaining to her husband's treatment prior to filing suit, and the defendants provided her with Alliance's partnership agreement and Dr. Clark's employment records as early as December 2004. Accordingly, we find that the trial court committed no error in determining that the complaint naming the substituted parties did not relate back to the original complaint under any applicable rule of civil procedure. The trial court did not err in finding that Price had failed to use due diligence in ascertaining the identities of the proper parties, and that the MTCA one-year statute of limitations had thus run at the time Price filed suit against the aforementioned defendants. In sum, the trial court committed no error in dismissing those defendants with prejudice.
ś 47. Price asserts that she was denied her right to redress in the courts. This Court has held that a plaintiff's right to redress is not absolute. See Arceo v. Tolliver, 949 So.2d 691 (Miss. 2006). In Arceo, this Court stated: There is no absolute right of access to the courts. All that is required is a reasonable right of access to the courts â a reasonable opportunity to be heard. Wayne v. Tenn. Valley Auth., 730 F.2d 392, 403 (5th Cir.1984) (cited with approval in Townsend [ v. Estate of Gilbert ], 616 So.2d 333, 337 (Miss.1993)). While the right under our state and federal constitutions to access to our courts is a matter beyond debate, this right is coupled with responsibility, including the responsibility to comply with legislative enactments, rules, and judicial decisions. While the plaintiff in today's case had the constitutional right to seek redress in our state courts for the unfortunate death of her daughter, she likewise had the responsibility to comply with the applicable rules and statutes, including section 15-1-36(15). Any different approach would render meaningless any rule or statute setting time limitations on litigants. Id. at 697 (emphasis in original). Article 3, Section 24 of the Mississippi Constitution provides: All courts shall be open; and every person for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice shall be administered without sale, denial, or delay. Miss. Const. art. 3, § 24 (1890). However, notwithstanding this constitutional right, the Legislature has certain authority via statutory enactments, and this Court possesses its inherent rule-making authority to set guidelines as to how redress may be sought through our courts. No party may sit on his or her rights. The law is created for the watchful and not for the negligent. Harrison Enters. v. Trilogy Commc'ns, Inc., 818 So.2d 1088, 1095 (Miss.2002). ś 48. Additionally, as this Court stated in Carter v. Mississippi Department of Corrections, 860 So.2d 1187, 1194 (Miss.2003): [T]he remedy clause, Miss. Const. art. 3, § 24, does not conflict with sovereign immunity, does not require exceptions to sovereign immunity and does not grant an absolute guarantee of a trial. Id. at 1194 (citing Gentry v. Wallace, 606 So.2d 1117 (Miss.1992) (overruled on other grounds by Jenkins v. Pensacola Health Trust, Inc., 933 So.2d 923, 926 (Miss. 2006))); see also Robinson v. Stewart, 655 So.2d 866 (Miss.1995). ś 49. Accordingly, this assignment of error is without merit. [3]
ś 50. Price appeals the trial court's August 20, 2007, final order granting summary judgment in favor of Dr. Clark and Cleveland Medical Clinic, PLLC. The trial court ultimately found that Price was unable to show any negligible acts by Dr. Clark (and thus his employer) from October 1, 2003, through January 31, 2004; therefore, the trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants based on Price's expert declining to offer an opinion that Dr. Clark had deviated from the standard of care at any point after September 9, 2003. While Price has appealed the trial court's August 20, 2007, Order Granting Summary Judgment, she has not briefed any arguments showing any issue of material fact that Dr. Clark deviated from the standard of care during the time period he was not subject to MTCA immunity. Tupelo Redevelopment Agency v. Gray Corp., 972 So.2d 495, 517 (Miss.2007) (failure to cite authority in support of claims of error precludes appellate review of those claims) (citing Grey v. Grey, 638 So.2d 488, 491 (Miss.1994)) (other citations omitted). ś 51. Thus, we find no merit in the appeal of the August 20, 2007, Order.
ś 52. Dr. Steven Clark and Cleveland Medical Clinic, PLLC, cross-appeal the trial court's August 28, 2006, order denying their Motion to Amend Judgment and the March 19, 2007, Amended Order Granting Summary Judgment on the basis that the trial court erred in not dismissing all claims against them with prejudice. As previously discussed, this Court found that the trial court erroneously dismissed the MTCA defendants with prejudice. ś 53. The defendants now argue that the two-year statute of limitations pursuant to Section 15-1-36, even with the sixty-day tolling effect of the notice-of-claim letters, expired on June 8, 2006. In essence, the defendants again argue that no tolling effect for the purposes of Section 15-1-36 should have been given to the original complaint, because the sixty-day notice requirement was violated. As previously stated, this Court has found no precedent that supports this premise. Despite the fact that Price filed her claim only one day after sending her notice-of-claim letters, the proper remedy was dismissal without prejudice because the claim, albeit in violation of the sixty-day notice requirement, did serve to toll the two-year statute of limitations until the trial court dismissed the claims against Dr. Clark and Cleveland Medical Clinic without prejudice on July 24, 2006. We find no error on the part of the trial court in doing so. Accordingly, the defendants' cross-appeal is without merit.
ś 54. Drs. Austin, Wright, and Sullivan, and Cleveland Medical Clinic, Ltd., and Cleveland Clinic, P.A., cross-appeal the trial court's July 24, 2006, order granting Price leave to file her third amended complaint on the basis that it was improvidently granted. The trial court's July 24, 2006, order cites Rule 15(a) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, which states, in pertinent part, leave shall be freely given when justice so requires. Thus, leave to amend was properly granted, given that to deny it would deny a plaintiff recourse where an argument could be made that the substituted parties in the amended complaint related back to the fictional parties in the original complaint. Accordingly, this issue is without merit.