Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

Appellant Roy Sparks and Jeffrey Clack got into a fistfight during a college football tailgate event. Appellant was injured, and he filed suit against Clack and several entities that sponsored the event. Appellant also named fictitious "Roe" and "Doe" defendants for other parties they couldn't identify but that they felt were liable. Ultimately, the trial court dismissed Appellant's case, finding that Appellant did not try hard enough to find all the persons he felt were liable for his injuries. Furthermore, the court held that Respondent Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Inc. was not responsible for the conduct of persons like Mr. Clack at the tailgate. The Supreme Court agreed with the trial court, and affirmed the lower court's dismissal of Appellant's case.

In May, 2008, Real-Party-In-Interest Roxanne Cagnina arrived at Centennial Hills Hospital for medical treatment. During her stay, she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a member of the hospital staff. She brought a civil suit against the staff member and his employer, Petitioner Valley Health System. During discovery, Cagnina sought to have Valley Health produce records of other incidents or complaints of improper conduct by employees or staff or others. Valley Health objected, and Cagnina filed a motion to compel a response. The motion was heard before a discovery commissioner who recommended to the trial court that Cagninaâs motion be granted. The court affirmed the commissionerâs recommendation, but Valley Health still objected. It sought a writ of mandamus from the Supreme Court, arguing that the records were privileged, and that the district court erred by affirming the discovery commissionerâs recommendation to hand over the records. On review, the Supreme Court found that Valley Health failed to raise its privilege argument before the discovery commissioner. The Court dismissed Valley Healthâs application for a writ of mandamus, and affirmed the decision of the lower court.