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Keywords

tortplaintiffdefendantdamagesstatutemotionmalpracticeoverruledcivil procedure
plaintiffdefendantmotionmalpracticeoverruledcivil procedure

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Graley v. Satayatham, 343 N.E.2d 832, 74 O.O.2d 316

Facts

The plaintiffs in both cases alleged medical malpractice by the defendants and sought damages for the injuries suffered. The Graley case was filed on October 14, 1975, with the last treatment occurring in November 1974, while the Ahlgrim case was filed on August 13, 1975, with the alleged malpractice occurring on the same date in 1974. The defendants raised motions to dismiss based on the plaintiffs' failure to comply with specific provisions of the Ohio Revised Code regarding the listing of benefits and the verification of claims.

The Graley case was filed on October 14, 1975, and avers that the last treatment of the plaintiff by the defendant was in November, 1974. The Ahlgrim case was filed on August 13, 1975, and asserts that the alleged malpractice occurred on August 13, 1974.

Issue

The main legal issues were whether the Ohio Malpractice Act applied retroactively to occurrences prior to July 28, 1975, and whether certain provisions of the Act were constitutionally valid in light of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure and the equal protection clause.

The within motions to dismiss present the following issues: (1) Does the said Ohio Malpractice Act apply retroactively to any occurrence that took place prior to July 28, 1975? (2) If the said act does apply retroactively, are the provisions of Sections 2305.27, 2307.42, 2307.43, and 2317.02 constitutionally invalid by virtue of being in conflict with the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure and/or the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution, both of which mandate 'equal protection' of the laws.

Rule

The court applied the principle that laws conflicting with the Rules of Civil Procedure are invalid, and that statutes affecting substantive rights cannot be applied retroactively unless expressly stated.

The Constitution specifies: 'All laws in conflict with such rules shall be of no further force or effect after such rules have taken effect'.

Analysis

The court found that the provisions of the Ohio Malpractice Act, particularly Sections 2307.42 and 2305.27, conflicted with the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, rendering them invalid. The court emphasized that the Act's requirements imposed unequal treatment on medical malpractice claimants compared to other tort cases, violating the equal protection clause. Additionally, the court ruled that the Act did not apply retroactively as it did not expressly state such applicability.

It is obvious that R.C. Sec. 2307.42 is in conflict with the cited Civil Rules and by the mandate of the constitution, the Rule must prevail. The requirements of this section of the Code are, therefore, invalid.

Conclusion

The court held that the motions to dismiss were overruled, affirming that the provisions of the new Medical Malpractice Act do not apply retrospectively and that certain sections were unconstitutional.

It is, therefore, the holding of the Court in the within cases that: (1) The provisions of the new Medical Malpractice Act do not apply retrospectively but insofar as any sections are constitutionally valid, they apply only to causes of action that arose subsequent to July 28, 1975.

Who won?

The plaintiffs prevailed in the case as the court overruled the defendants' motions to dismiss, finding the Medical Malpractice Act's provisions invalid and unconstitutional.

The motions to dismiss are overruled.

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