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California Civil Procedure, Keyed to Levine, 6th Ed.
Putnam v. Clague
Citation:
3 Cal. App. 4th 542, 5 Cal. Rptr. 2d 25 (1992)Facts
Michael and Geralyn Putnam, Eddie and Marcia Ragsdale, and Gene and Leona Hess each filed separate medical malpractice complaints against Dr. Brian Clague between May and December 1987. Attorney Paul Melodía represented all plaintiffs and had filed numerous similar cases against Dr. Clague arising from the same surgical procedure. Melodía elected to pursue the Randall Thompson case as a lead case on negligence and standard of care issues, conducting extensive discovery including at least six expert depositions. The Thompson case settled in June 1989. Service in the instant cases was not made until January and March 1990, nearly three years after filing. Melodía explained that he staggered service to avoid creating unmanageable demands on both parties and their counsel, and that Dr. Clague’s attorney was aware of the pending cases and had limited availability for depositions in the four other served cases.
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