Opinion ID: 2170439
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Extent of Party's Personal Responsibility for Delay.

Text: In addressing the first factor listed in Ward , extent of the party's personal responsibility for delay, the trial court found the plaintiffs responsible for delay, based upon their failure to seek a trial date until the motion to dismiss had been filed and their delay in providing information about prior injuries. It also found the lack of a motion to compel responses to requests for information on prior injuries not dispositive, noting its view that counsel requesting discovery should not have to file a motion to compel to obtain discovery provided for through the civil rules. We agree with the trial court that the plaintiffs' failure to seek a trial date before the filing of a motion to dismiss was an appropriate factor to consider and was relevant to their degree of personal responsibility. And the trial court was free to reject the plaintiffs' explanation that they had already been planning to seek a trial date because the record shows that a motion to dismiss was actually filed first, and the trial court was not required to accept plaintiffs' assertions concerning their intent. [23] The trial court also properly considered delay in responding to requests for information concerning prior injuries as a relevant factor to consider and indicative of personal responsibility. Although Brian and Amy claim that the trial court did not properly consider the facts of Brian's home incarceration and a medical authorization for Flege to obtain Brian's medical records directly from the medical providers in assessing their personal responsibility for this matter, we note that they do not affirmatively allege that they had no way of obtaining the medical information for the whole period of delay because of Brian's incarceration, [24] nor do they address whether despite any medical authorization, access to the medical records might simply be barred because of the age of the records by that point. Given the clear evidence of delay in providing medical information and lack of compelling explanations to justify shifting responsibility to others for the delay, we find no reversible error in the trial court's consideration of this factor.