Myrick v. Nalchajian

• Court: Superior Court of Maine
• Decided: April 24, 2020
• Docket: SAGcv-17-16
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT SAGADAHOC, SS. Civil Action Docket No. CV-2017-16

MARYANN MYRICK, ) as Personal Representative of the ) Estate of MICHAEL L. MYRICK, ) Plaintiff, ) ) ) v. ) ORDER ON DEFENDANTS' ) MOTION FOR PARTIAL ) SUMMARY JUDGMENT NICOLE NALCHAJIAN, M.D., ) et al, ) Defendants. )

Pending before the court is the Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. For the reasons stated below, the motion is GRANTED.

As a matter of law, the facts alleged by the Plaintiff in the summary judgment record are insufficient as a matter of law to allow a reasonable jury to conclude that Dr. Nalchajian acted with ill will towards Michael Myrick or acted in a way that was so outrageous that malice can be implied. The facts alleged fall well short of the outrageous acts of the defendant in Morin v. Eastern Maine Med. Ctr., 779 F. Supp. 2d 166 (D. Me. 2011). Though this court believes the Law Court would likely hold that punitive damages may be available in a medical malpractice action, the Law Court would not do so based on the facts of this case.

Similarly, this court is satisfied that the Law Court would adopt Restatement (Second) of Torts §925 that requires that a decedent's gross earnings be reduced to reflect a decedent's own living expenses. In this case, during the discovery period, the Plaintiff produced no evidence that would allow the jury to make such a calculation. Without such evidence, the Defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on that portion of the Plaintiff's claim.

The Plaintiff has withdrawn the fraud claim. It is ORDERED that, by agreement of the parties, Count III will not be presented to the jury.

The Clerk is directed to incorporate this Order by reference into the docket for this case, pursuant to Rule 79(a), Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.

Dated: April 24, 2020 BATSC-CV-2017-00016 DOCKET RECORD PORTLAND ME 04104-5029 Attorney for: MID COAST HOSPITAL JAMES MARTEMUCCI - RETAINED GERMANI MARTEMUCCI & HILL 43 DEERING STREET PORTLAND ME 04101

Attorney for: MID COAST HOSPITAL ROBERT HAYES - RETAINED GERMANI MARTEMUCCI & HILL 43 DEERING STREET PORTLAND ME 04101

BLUE WATER EMERGENCY PARTNERS LLC - RESPONDENT

Attorney for: BLUE WATER EMERGENCY PARTNERS LLC CHRISTOPHER TAINTOR - RETAINED NORMAN HANSON & DETROY LLC PO BOX 4600 TWO CANAL PLAZA PORTLAND ME 04112-4600

Filing Document: COMPLAINT Minor Case Type: MEDICAL MALPRACTICE Filing Date: 04/24/2017

Docket Events: 04/24/2017 FILING DOCUMENT - COMPLAINT FILED ON 04/24/2017

04/24/2017 Party(s): MARYANN MYRICK PR ATTORNEY - RETAINED ENTERED ON 02/24/2017 Plaintiff's Attorney: OWEN B PICKUS

Party(s): MICHAEL L MYRICK EST OF ATTORNEY - RETAINED ENTERED ON 02/24/2017 Plaintiff's Attorney: OWEN B PICKUS

04/24/2017 NOTE - OTHER CASE NOTE ENTERED ON 04/24/2017 REQUEST FOR PANEL CHAIR ISSUED CHIEF JUSTICE COLE

05/01/2017 Party(s): MARYANN MYRICK PR,MICHAEL L MYRICK EST OF SUPPLEMENTAL FILING - NOTICE OF CLAIM FILED ON 04/28/2017 Plaintiff's Attorney: OWEN B PICKUS AMENDED NOTICE OF CLAIM FOR PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE

05/10/2017 Party(s): MID COAST HOSPITAL OTHER FILING - ENTRY OF APPEARANCE FILED ON 05/08/2017 Defendant's Attorney: JAMES MARTEMUCCI

05/10/2017 Party(s): MID COAST HOSPITAL ATTORNEY - RETAINED ENTERED ON 05/08/2017 Defendant's Attorney: JAMES MARTEMUCCI

05/10/2017 Party(s): MID COAST HOSPITAL Page 2 of 10 Printed on: 04/24/2020 MARYANN MYRICK PR - PLAINTIFF SUPERIOR COURT 683 BRUNSWICK ROAD SAGADAHOC, ss. RICHMOND ME 04357 Docket No BATSC-CV-2017-00016 Attorney for: MARYANN MYRICK PR OWEN B PICKUS - RETAINED OWEN PICKUS DO ESQ & ASSOCIATES DOCKET RECORD LAFAYETTE CENTER 2 STORER ST STE 200A KENNEBUNK ME 04043

Attorney for: MARYANN MYRICK PR AMBER L TUCKER - RETAINED THE LAW OFFICE OF AMBER L TUCKER LLC P.O. BOX 7542 415 CONGRESS STREET STE 206 PORTLAND ME 04112

MICHAEL L MYRICK EST OF - PLAINTIFF C/0 MARYANN MYRICK 683 BRUNSWICK ROAD RICHMOND ME 04357 Attorney for: MICHAEL L MYRICK EST OF OWEN B PICKUS - RETAINED OWEN PICKUS DO ESQ & ASSOCIATES LAFAYETTE CENTER 2 STORER ST STE 200A KENNEBUNK ME 04043

Attorney for: MICHAEL L MYRICK EST OF AMBER L TUCKER - RETAINED THE LAW OFFICE OF AMBER L TUCKER LLC P.O. BOX 7542 415 CONGRESS STREET STE 206 PORTLAND ME 04112

TODD MYRICK - PLAINTIFF

Attorney for: TODD MYRICK AMBER L TUCKER - RETAINED THE LAW OFFICE OF AMBER L TUCKER LLC P.O. BOX 7542 415 CONGRESS STREET STE 206 PORTLAND ME 04112

vs NICOLE NALCHAJIAN - DEFENDANT

Attorney for: NICOLE NALCHAJIAN CHRISTOPHER TAINTOR - RETAINED NORMAN HANSON & DETROY LLC PO BOX 4600 TWO CANAL PLAZA PORTLAND ME 04112-4600

MID COAST HOSPITAL - DEFENDANT C/0 RONALD SCHNEIDER JR ESQ, PO BOX 9729 Page 1 of 10 Printed on: 04/24/2020