Congratulations to Associate Julian Buffa on securing a pre-answer dismissal of a multi-party consolidated action against our client and numerous other defendants on a case with potential exposure in the millions. The 58-year-old plaintiff alleged that he sustained life-altering injuries that rendered him a quadriplegic after he lost consciousness and fell from an examination table following a blood draw at a co-defendant treatment facility. Plaintiff named the treatment facility, its owner, a physician’s assistant, the phlebotomist, the owner of the premises, the manufacturer of the examination table, and our clients, leaseholders which shared office space with the treatment facility where the incident occurred. Following depositions of plaintiff and the owner of the treatment facility, plaintiff commenced the fourth companion action against our client, a tenant on the lease agreement for a portion of the premises, alleging that our client owed plaintiff a duty.
With diligent investigation and analysis, Julian moved to dismiss pre-answer, taking the position that the operative facts underlying plaintiff’s alleged accident and injury bear a substantial relationship to the rendition of medical treatment and as such, could only sound in medical malpractice. Since plaintiff failed to plead a physician-patient relationship existed with our client, the complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim. Alternatively, Julian argued that plaintiff also failed to state premises liability claims for failure to allege a dangerous condition existed as a causative factor in the happening of the accident.
The court agreed with Julian’s well-thought-out contentions for dismissal on a case that raised numerous novel questions of law and granted the motion in its entirety in a thoughtful opinion. Julian’s victory for a major firm client is impressive enough, but all the more so considering that plaintiff and every other defendant vigorously opposed and argued against dismissal of our client, raising numerous factual and legal arguments and theories of potential liability requiring Julian to respond to each one in reply and at oral arguments.
Julian’s victory is doubly impressive in light of plaintiff’s demand, well in excess of $52,000,000!
Congratulations for a terrific result Julian.