Talbert, C. v. Centurion

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 22, 2025
Docket1263 MDA 2024
StatusUnpublished

This text of Talbert, C. v. Centurion (Talbert, C. v. Centurion) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Talbert, C. v. Centurion, (Pa. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

J-S13003-25

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

CHARLES TALBERT : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA Appellant : : : v. : : : CENTURION : No. 1263 MDA 2024

Appeal from the Order Entered August 6, 2024 In the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County Civil Division at No(s): 2022-01051

BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J.E., KUNSELMAN, J., and NICHOLS, J.

MEMORANDUM BY PANELLA, P.J.E.: FILED: APRIL 22, 2025

Charles Talbert appeals pro se from the order entered on August 6,

2024, denying his request to open and/or strike judgment of non pros. Talbert

argues the trial court erred in (1) entering judgment of non pros while his

request for an extension of time to file a certificate of merit (“COM”) was

pending, (2) denying his request for an extension of time, (3) finding res ipsa

loquitur does not apply, (4) not advising him what type of expert is required,

and (5) not permitting him to amend his complaint. Finding no merit to any

of these contentions, we affirm.

The trial court set forth the relevant factual and procedural history:

[Talbert] filed this action on February 7, 2022, alleging [Centurion] and several other named defendants failed to provide adequate mental health treatment during his period of incarceration at the State Correctional Institution — Camp Hill, located in Cumberland County. [Talbert] did not file a [COM] with J-S13003-25

his complaint, even though he alleged medical malpractice and professional negligence.

[Talbert] amended his complaint on December 18, 2022 to dismiss several other defendants and concentrate on allegations solely against Defendant Centurion. [Talbert] made claims for [c]orporate [n]egligence,[] [b]reach of [i]mplied-in-[l]aw [c]ontract,[ v]icarious [l]iability, [h]ealth [c]are [f]raud,[] and [r]etaliation.[] [Talbert’s] [c]orporate [n]egligence[] claim alleged that [Centurion] breached a duty to [Talbert] “by way of lack of diligence and care, in reckless disregard of its legal duty owed to [Talbert] and in reckless disregard of the consequences of its extreme departure from the appropriate standard of care.” Though [Talbert] claimed professional negligence through a breach of the standard of care, he again failed to file a [COM].

[Centurion] filed preliminary objections to the complaint on April 24, 2023 seeking, among other relief, dismissal of the action for [Talbert’s] failure to file a [COM]. Th[e trial c]ourt overruled that preliminary objection because preliminary objections are not the proper procedural mechanism to seek dismissal of an action based on failure to file a [COM]. On December 12, 2023, [Centurion] filed a notice of intention to seek judgment of non pros pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. No. 1042.7 for [Talbert’s] failure to file a [COM]. [Talbert] then moved for an extension of time to file his [COM] on January 18, 2024. On January 24, 2024, th[e trial c]ourt issued a [r]ule to [s]how [c]ause on [Centurion] why [Talbert’s] request for extension should not be granted. [Centurion] did file a response in opposition to that [r]ule to [s]how [c]ause, but it was not transmitted to the [c]ourt, and [Talbert’s] [m]otion for [e]xtension of [t]ime remained open. On June 18, 2024, [Centurion] filed a [p]raecipe to enter [j]udgment of [n]on [p]ros for [Talbert’s] failure to file a [COM]. [Talbert] continued to file motions to the docket, however, because the case was not marked as closed, leading [Centurion] to file a [m]otion for [c]larification as to whether the case was open or closed.

Th[e trial c]ourt then examined the docket and realized that [Talbert’s] [m]otion for [e]xtension was outstanding. On July 1, 2024, th[e trial c]ourt gave [Talbert] 30 additional days to file a [COM] and scheduled a hearing for August 5, 2024 for [Talbert] to argue why he would not need a [COM]. On July 16, 2024, [Talbert] filed a [COM] to say that expert testimony in this matter is unnecessary, and that he “certifies that the surrounding

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circumstances of this claim is entitled to an inference of negligence under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.” Despite that filing, however, [Talbert] filed an additional [m]otion to [e]xtend [t]ime to [f]ile a [COM] on August 2, 2024, stating that while he believes an expert is not necessary in this matter, he would need additional time if the court deems one necessary.

A hearing on the matter was held on August 5, 2024. At that hearing, [Talbert] stated that he believed that he would not need a medical expert because his sentencing court ordered him to receive mental health treatment and [Centurion] was not complying with the sentencing order. He stated that a “court- appointed” psychiatrist evaluated him before he was sentenced and deemed it “clinically necessary for him to receive intense psychiatric treatment for his personality difficulties that includes poor impulse control, poor judgment, and a lack of insight into the underlining (sic) nature of his psychological conflict and symptoms.” He further stated that he believed that “a jury can reasonably infer negligence by Centurion’s failure to comply with the conditions of his state sentence for treatment.” He also conveyed that [Centurion] removed him from treatment when he was placed into solitary confinement and stated that he believed that “a reasonably competent jury can infer to [(sic)] negligence by Centurion’s failure to comply with state law and prison policy, which has led to his mental suffering.” He then stated that at trial, he would be relying on “three authorities that are available to the entire public,” namely, a book entitled The Everything Psychology Book by Kendra Cherry; The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V); and Title 55 of the Pennsylvania Administrative Code, which pertains to the Department of Human Services’ regulations for mental health treatment facilities. [Talbert] asserted that all of these publications are written clearly enough for lay people to understand, so that should negate his need for an expert.

The [trial c]ourt then explained to [Talbert] on the record why his thought process was flawed:

So when we talk about something not needing experts, it has to be clear from the writing. Your complaint[;] that you don’t need anything else to interpret that. So someone would have to read your complaint and not need the DSM-5-TR, or not need that other book, or not need any other resource to

-3- J-S13003-25

determine whether they had a duty of care, they breached the duty of care, and harm resulted from that. So when you are holding up those books, that is kind of running counter to your position. Because if we need those books to understand what you are talking about, then we need an expert, because those books are written by experts.

[Talbert] then reiterated that he did not need an expert because [Centurion] had not complied with the sentencing order. Th[e trial c]ourt asked him if he had been seen at all by [Centurion], to which [Talbert] replied that [Centurion] has failed to place him in a certain “code status” as an inmate with “serious mental illness,” which would ensure that he was not placed in solitary confinement due to his mental health behaviors. [Talbert] did admit that he was seen by [Centurion], but it was “four or five months” into his incarceration instead of right away. [Talbert] is currently in treatment with one of [Centurion’s] psychiatrists and is receiving medication.

[Centurion] then argued that [Talbert’s] claims would not be easily understood by the average lay person and that an expert would be necessary to prove a standard of care, a breach of that standard and causation.

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Bluebook (online)
Talbert, C. v. Centurion, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/talbert-c-v-centurion-pasuperct-2025.