Martone v. Sokol, et al.

2011 DNH 215

• Court: District Court, D. New Hampshire
• Decided: December 19, 2011
• Docket: CV-11-377-JL
• Status: Published

Opinion

Martone v. Sokol, et al. CV-11-377-JL 12/19/11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Dominic R. Martone

v. Civil No. ll-cv-377-JL Opinion No. 2011 DNH 215 Jana M. Sokol, DMD, and Robert A. Fontana

MEMORANDUM ORDER

Plaintiff Dominic Martone, proceeding pro se, has sued

dentist Jana Sokol, a franchisee of Aspen Dental, and Robert

Fontana, President and CEO of Aspen Dental. Martone alleges that

Sokol failed to perform her services in a professional manner

when operating on him, causing him physical discomfort and

reguiring further corrective dental work. The defendants have

moved to dismiss the case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

12(b)(6), arguing that (a) Martone's suit is barred by the

doctrine of res judicata because a nearly identical suit Martone

brought against Sokol in Massachusetts state court was dismissed

with prejudice; and (b) the allegations of the complaint contain

no basis for holding Fontana, as Aspen Dental's CEO, personally

liable for Sokol's alleged actions.

This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332

(diversity) because Martone is a New Hampshire citizen, the

defendants are citizens of Massachusetts and New York, and the

amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. After considering the parties' briefs and hearing argument, the court grants

defendants' motion. The doctrine of res judicata prevents

Martone from recovering here because his prior action against

Sokol arose from the same transaction and resulted in a final

judgment. That doctrine also precludes Martone from pursuing his

claim against Fontana, whose alleged liability is premised solely

on the theory that he is vicariously liable for Sokol's actions

and who is therefore entitled to the protection of res judicata

as well.

I. Applicable legal standard

When considering a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court must take

as true all the plaintiff's well-pleaded facts and draw all

reasonable inferences arising from them in the plaintiff's favor.

Est. of Bennett v. Wainwright, 548 F.3d 155, 162 (1st Cir. 2008) .

The court "may consider not only the complaint but also "facts

extractable from documentation annexed to or incorporated by

reference in the complaint and matters susceptible to judicial

notice." Rederford v. U.S. Airways, Inc., 589 F.3d 30, 35 (1st

Cir. 2009). Although a complaint "does not need detailed factual

allegations," the "allegations must be enough to raise a right to

relief above the speculative level." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly,

550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007). Pleadings that "are no more than

2 conclusions are not entitled to the assumption of truth."

Sanchez v. Pereira-Castillo, 590 F.3d 31, 49 (1st Cir. 2009)

(quotations omitted) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. C t . 1937,

1950 (2009) ) .

II. Background

In November 2009, defendant Jana Sokol, DMD, operated on

both the upper and lower jaws of plaintiff Dominic Martone.

Sokol is a franchisee of Aspen Dental, a well-known national

chain of dental care providers of which defendant Robert Fontana

is President and CEO. According to Martone, Sokol did not

"perform her services in a professional manner." After visiting

Sokol, Martone found that saliva "continually flow[ed]" from his

mouth, causing him embarrassment and trouble speaking. In

addition, Martone experienced difficulty chewing and swallowing

his food. Martone subsequently consulted two other dentists,

both of whom advised him that Sokol's work had been deficient.

In April 2010, Martone filed suit against Sokol, "d/b/a

Aspen Dental," in the Superior Court for Essex County,

Massachusetts.1 As here, the basis for that action was Sokol's

1This court may take judicial notice of matters of public record, such as the filings in the Massachusetts action, without converting defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) motion into one for summary judgment. In re Colonial Mortg. Bankers Corp., 324 F.3d 12, 15- 16, 19 (1st Cir. 2003). Further, the complaint in this action.

3 November 9, 2009 operation on Martone; Martone's complaint

asserted that Sokol had "negligently performed her duties" and

sought damages in the amount of $50,000. Martone later moved the

court for leave to amend his complaint to add Aspen Dental of New

York as a defendant. A ruling on that motion was stayed pending

review of Martone's claim by the Medical Malpractice Tribunal,

which subseguently issued a report finding that there was "not

sufficient evidence to raise a legitimate guestion of liability

appropriate for judicial inguiry."2 The report further informed

Martone that he would need to file a bond in the amount of $6,000

with the Clerk of Courts within 30 days in order to continue to

pursue his claim, and that if he did not, his action would be

dismissed. See Mass. Gen. L. ch. 231, § 60B. Martone did not

on its face, makes reference to the Massachusetts action. See Complaint (document no. 1) at 2.

2Under Massachusetts law, medical malpractice claims are screened at an early stage of the litigation by a tribunal consisting of "a single justice of the superior court, a physician licensed to practice medicine in the commonwealth . . . and an attorney authorized to practice law in the commonwealth." Knight v. Brockton Hosp., 77 Fed. Appx. 22, 23 (1st Cir. 2003) (guoting Mass. Gen. L. ch. 231, § 60B). "The function of a medical malpractice tribunal is to separate medical malpractice claims into two groups: those appropriate for judicial evaluation, and those involving merely an unfortunate medical error. A tribunal evaluates only the medical aspects of a malpractice claim for the purpose of distinguishing between those type of cases." Id. at 23-24 (citations and guotations omitted); see also Feinstein v. Mass. Gen. Hosp., 643 F.2d 880, 885 (1st Cir. 1981) (describing structure and purpose of medical malpractice tribunal).

4 post a bond within the requisite 30 days, so the court entered

judgment, ordering "[t]hat the complaint of the plaintiff (s) is

hereby dismissed with For [sic] failure to post bond with

prej udice."

III. Analysis

Defendants argue that, because Martone's Massachusetts state

court action against Sokol was dismissed with prejudice, the

present action is barred by the doctrine of res judicata, or,

more specifically, claim preclusion. The court agrees.

"Res judicata, in its claim preclusion aspect, is intended

to prevent the re-litigation of claims already litigated or that

should have been litigated in an earlier action." lantosca v.

Step Plan Servs., Inc., 604 F.3d 24, 30 (1st Cir. 2010). "The

burden of establishing the affirmative defense of res judicata

rests on the defendants," Dillon v. Select Portfolio Servicing,

630 F.3d 75, 80 (1st Cir. 2011), and "[i]n considering the

preclusive effect of a Massachusetts judgment, we look to

Massachusetts law." lantosca, 604 F.3d at 30. Under

Massachusetts law, "[t]here are three required elements for the

invocation of claim preclusion: (1) the identity or privity of

the parties to the present and prior actions, (2) identity of the

cause of action, and (3) prior final judgment on the merits."

5 Baby Furniture Warehouse Store, Inc. v. Meubles D & F Ltee, 911

N.E.2d 800, 806 (Mass. A p p . 2009) (quoting Kobrin v. Bd. of

Registration in Med., 444 Mass. 837, 843 (2005)).

Those three elements are present here and serve to bar

Martone from re-litigating his claim against Sokol in this

action. The parties are identical: in the prior Massachusetts

action, as in the present action, Martonesought recovery from

Sokol. The cause of action is identical: in the prior

Massachusetts action, as in the present action, Martone's claim

arose from Sokol's alleged November 9, 2009 malpractice. See,

e.g.. Saint Louis v. Baystate Med. Ctr., Inc., 568 N.E.2d 1181,

1185 (Mass. App. 1991) ("A claim is the same for res judicata

purposes if it is derived from the same transaction or series of

connected transactions."). And the dismissal of the prior

Massachusetts action with prejudice constitutes a "final judgment

on the merits" for claim preclusion purposes. See Bagley v.

Moxley, 407 Mass. 633, 637 (1990) ("[F]or the purposes of res

judicata analysis, the dismissal with prejudice . . . constituted

an adjudication on the merits as fully and as completely as if

the order had been entered after trial."); see also Saint Louis,

568 N.E.2d at 1185 (stipulation of dismissal with prejudice was

"valid and final" and could "preclude subsequent litigation based

on the same claim").

6 Martone argues that the prior state court judgment should

not be accorded preclusive effect because the Medical Malpractice

Tribunal's decision was "not a final decision." This overlooks a

critical point. After the adverse decision by the Medical

Malpractice Tribunal, Martone was reguired to post a $6,000 bond

to continue his case. See Mass. Gen. L. ch. 231, § 60B ("If a

finding is made for the defendant or defendants in the case [by

the Tribunal] the plaintiff may pursue the claim through the

usual judicial process only upon filing bond in the amount of six

thousand dollars . . . . " ) . He did not do so, and the action was

dismissed--as the statute mandates. See id. ("If said bond is

not posted within thirty days of the tribunal's finding the

action shall be dismissed."). It is not the Tribunal's decision,

but the court's dismissal of the prior action, which prevents him

from reasserting his claim in this action.

Massachusetts law also extends the preclusive effect of the

prior state court judgment to Martone's claim against Fontana.

This is so, even though Fontana was not a defendant in the

earlier action, because Fontana's alleged liability rests solely

on the theory that he is vicariously liable for Sokol's acts.

See Complaint3 at 3-5 (asserting that Fontana is liable under the

"rule of master and servant," as a principal liable for the acts

3Document no. 1.

7 of his agent, or under the "doctrine of ratification"). Res

judicata "does not require identity of the parties concerned;

instead, the parties need only be in privity or in a

relationship, such as that between agent and principal and

employer and employee, in which one party is vicariously liable

for the acts of the other." Capizzi v. Verrier, No. 95-1753-G,

1996 WL 414034, *4 (Mass. Super. July 23, 1996) (citing

Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 51 (1982)); see also

Putignano v. Treasurer & Receiver Gen., 774 N.E.2d 1157, 1161

(Mass. App. 2002) ("[W]hen a prior case has concluded with a

final judgment that a primary liability does not exist, [a party]

who has only secondary liability may have the benefit of the

judgment.").

That is exactly the case here: the claim against Fontana is

"wholly derivative" of Martone's claim against Sokol in that it

is based on the same alleged acts by Sokol that formed the basis

of Martone's claims against her in both this action and his prior

Massachusetts action. Id. The policies underlying res judicata

--"to relieve parties of the cost and vexation of multiple

lawsuits, conserve judicial resources, and, by preventing

inconsistent decisions, encourage reliance on adjudication,"

Mancuso v. Kinchla, 806 N.E.2d 427, 436 (Mass. App. 2004)

(quoting Bay State HMO Mgmt., Inc. v. Tingley Sys., Inc., 181 F.3d 174, 181 (1st Cir. 1999))--would scarcely be served if

Martone, having lost his original suit against Sokol, could get a

second bite at the apple simply by suing her superior.

Martone's claims against Fontana and Sokol are therefore

barred by the doctrine of claim preclusion.4 This action must be

dismissed.

IV. Conclusion

For the reasons set forth above, the court GRANTS the motion

to dismiss.5 The clerk shall enter judgment accordingly and

close the case.

4Because the court concludes that res judicata bars Martone's suit against Fontana, it is unnecessary to address in detail defendants' alternative argument that Fontana cannot be held personally liable for Sokol's acts. Defendants are nonetheless correct that in order for an officer or director of a corporation to be held personally liable for a tort committed by the corporation or one of its employees, he or she must have "participate[d] in the [tort] or ha[d] knowledge amounting to acguiescence," and "[s]ome knowledge and participation, actual or implied, must be brought home to him." New England Box Co. v. Gilbert, 100 N.H. 257, 259 (1956) (citing 3 Wm. Meade Fletcher, Cyclopedia of Corporations §§ 1137, 1140); see also Doyle v. Hoyle, No. 94-CV-244-SD, 1995 WL 113933, *5 (D.N.H. March 14, 1995) ("[A]n officer of a corporation is liable for any tort of the corporation in which he participates or authorizes . . . .") (guoting Pac. & Atl. Shippers v. Schier, 109 N.H. 551, 553 (1969)). The complaint contains no allegations from which one could conclude that Fontana participated in, authorized, or even knew of Sokol's allegedly tortious acts. Thus, Martone's claims against him would have to be dismissed even if res judicata did not apply.

5Document no. 5. SO ORDERED.

J9Geph N\ La^lante .ited States District Judge Dated: December 19, 2011

cc: Dominic R. Martone (pro se) Ralph Suozzo, Esq. William N. Smart, Esq.