Hajda v. University of Kansas Hospital Authority

356 P.3d 1, 51 Kan. App. 2d 761, 2015 Kan. App. LEXIS 51
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedJuly 31, 2015
DocketNo. 111,766
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 356 P.3d 1 (Hajda v. University of Kansas Hospital Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hajda v. University of Kansas Hospital Authority, 356 P.3d 1, 51 Kan. App. 2d 761, 2015 Kan. App. LEXIS 51 (kanctapp 2015).

Opinion

Schroeder, J.:

Nina Eva Hajda timely filed this medical malpractice suit against six doctors, the University of Kansas Hospital (the Hospital), and the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). She timely issued summonses on all of the parties, but she failed to obtain valid service. Pursuant to K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 60-203(b) and the district court’s order, after the statute of limitations had run, Hajda re-served tire six doctors and received permission from the district court to amend her petition. In the amended petition, Hajda changed the name of the defendant entities she initially served from KUMC and the Hospital to the Kansas University Hospital Authority (KUHA). K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 60-203(b) extends the time to obtain service if the original attempt at service is determined to be defective due to an irregularity in form, procedure, or a defect in making service. Additionally, if the service is obtained within the statutoiy deadlines of subsection (b), the service date relates back to the date the petition was filed.

Valid service on the six doctors was subsequently obtained within the statutory time frame of K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 60-203(b), and the [763]*763service related back to when tire petition was filed. However, filing a lawsuit and naming the wrong party is not an irregularity in form or procedure or a defect in making service. K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 60-203(b) cannot be used to extend the time upon which valid service on a party not initially named as a defendant can be obtained. The district court correctly granted KUIiA’s motion to dismiss.

Hajda also requests that we change the district court judge and/ or assign her case’s venue to another judicial district. We deny her requests. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

Facts

Hajda began treatment at the Hospital on December 7, 2010. Following several months of treatment, Hajda consulted an attorney in February 2011 regarding a potential medical malpractice claim against the Hospital and several of Hajda’s physicians. On December 12, 2012, Hajda filed a pro se pleading alleging medical malpractice against the Hospital; KUMC; Gary A. Johnson, M.D.; Rhonda Johnson, Ph.D.; Rachel Van Horn, M.D.; Emily Rangel, M.D.; Evelyn Reynolds, M.D.; and Nancy E. Hammond, M.D. On December 17, 2012, Hajda attempted to serve all the defendants by serving a single summons on the office of James Pottorff, general counsel for KUMC. The summons was actually served on Pot-torff s administrative assistant, Patrick Phillips.

On August 13,2013, the district court sent Hajda a letter stating her case was on the dismissal docket for failure to prosecute. On August 26, 2013, Hajda requested an entry of default judgment against the defendants for failure to answer. At the dismissal hearing on August 30, 2013, the district court gave Hajda 60 days to re-serve the defendants.

On October 29, 2013, Hajda filed a motion requesting permission to amend her petition to “correct the misnomer and properly name” KUHA as a defendant, replacing the Hospital and KUMC. Hajda also filed a motion for an extension of time to re-serve the defendants. On November 15,2013, following a hearing on Hajda’s motions, the district court granted her motion to amend her petition to change the name of the defendant from the Hospital and [764]*764KUMC to KUHA and granted her motion for additional time to serve the defendants.

Hajda filed summonses to serve the defendants on November 20, 2013, and service was obtained on the defendants between November 23, 2013, and December 10, 2013. On December 10, 2013, defense attorney Brad Watson filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 60-212(b)(5) on behalf of the six doctors. KUHA filed a motion to dismiss on December 12, 2013, pursuant to K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 60-212(b)(2) and K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 60-212(b)(6), because the statute of limitations had run before valid service was obtained on KUHA. On January 27, 2014, Hajda filed a request for default judgment against Dr. Van Horn. Hajda then filed a motion for default judgment against Dr. Van Horn on February 11, 2014, for her failure to answer.

On February 13, 2014, the district court held a hearing on the defendants’ motions to dismiss. As a preliminary matter in response to Hajda’s motion for default judgment against Dr. Van Horn for failure to answer, Watson explained on the record he was the attorney of record for all six doctors and was actually answering on behalf of all six doctors. Following a discussion on whether Dr. Van Horn had been served, the district court clarified its decision would apply to all the defendants including Dr. Van Horn and denied Hajda’s motion for default judgment.

At the February 13, 2014, hearing, the district court judge summarized based on her recollection what had occurred at the August 30, 2013, dismissal docket:

“At that time, in August, the plaintiff requested an entiy of default based on the fact that none of the defendants had answered, and while that dismissal docket is usually not on the record, and in this case wasn’t, the Court, without looking at the files or dealing with any statute of limitations issue, directed the plaintiff, or told the plaintiff, that the Court didn’t believe she had good service, for the sole reason that the Court knew that KU didn’t usually ignore service, number 1.
“Number 2, the Court also knew that... it was difficult to get proper service on KU and the doctors, because I know of attorneys that couldn’t get correct service on the correct department.
“MS. HAJDA: Entity
“THE COURT: Entity.
“MS. HAJDA: Entity, yes
[765]*765“THE COURT: Thank you. So at that time, what the Court did was solely inform the plaintiff to re-serve on the correct entity or defendants. The Court also told the plaintiff to speak with counsel to get some advice as to getting proper service, I believe the plaintiff at that time told me she’d already talked to attorneys who had told her she had gotten good service, but the Court so encouraged her at that time wherein, that’s when the Court entered an order telling her to reserve the defendants within 60 days and that I would reset this case in 90 days.”

The district court went on to state that the real issue governing whether the district court should grant the defendants’ motions to dismiss was whether Hajda’s petition was filed and service of process obtained within the statute of limitations. The district court clarified it did not believe the issue had been previously decided when it entered an order telling Hajda to re-serve the defendants within 60 days.

The district court held that the issue was strictly a matter of law and found:

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Bluebook (online)
356 P.3d 1, 51 Kan. App. 2d 761, 2015 Kan. App. LEXIS 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hajda-v-university-of-kansas-hospital-authority-kanctapp-2015.