Edwards v. Md. Provo-I Med. Servs., P.C.

NADINE EDWARDS, et al. v. MARYLAND PROVO-I MEDICAL SERVICES, P.C., et al.

No. 0080

COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND

September Term, 2014

June 10, 2015

UNREPORTED

Eyler, Deborah S. Leahy, Sharer, J. Frederick (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.

Opinion by Leahy, J.

*This is an unreported opinion, and it may not be cited in any paper, brief, motion, or other document filed in this Court or any other Maryland Court as either precedent within the rule of stare decisis or as persuasive authority. Md. Rule 1-104.

This appeal is from the grant of a motion to transfer venue of a tort action for wrongful death and medical negligence filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. After her husband, Jay Edwards, died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident, Nadine Edwards filed the tort action as the personal representative of the Estate¹ and, in her individual capacity as a wrongful death beneficiary, named the Edwards's three children, Dawn, Kevin, and Dorian Edwards, as use plaintiffs (collectively, "Appellants").² The action was filed against Dr. Patricia Melton, Dr. Sylvanus Oyogoa, and Maryland Provo-I Medical Services, P.C. ("Defendants" or "Appellees").³

The Circuit Court for Baltimore City transferred the case to Baltimore County where the automobile accident occurred on the evening of September 24, 2010, and where Mr. Edwards was initially treated by Dr. Melton and Maryland Provo-I at Northwest Hospital. After some initial tests, Dr. Melton determined that Mr. Edwards could not be treated at Northwest. Mr. Edwards was transferred at 2:00 a.m. to SinaiHospital in Baltimore City, following a delay allegedly caused by the attending trauma surgeon at Sinai, Dr. Oyogoa. Mr. Edwards died at Sinai Hospital later that morning. Appellants present two questions for our review:

I. "Did the trial court error by finding that Baltimore City was not a proper venue even though it is undisputed that [Mr. Edwards] died in Baltimore City?"

II. "Did the trial court abuse its discretion by finding that the forum non conveniens factors weighed strongly in favor of transferring to Baltimore County?"

We hold that the circuit court is afforded substantial discretion under the forum non conveniens doctrine, and irrespective of whether Baltimore City is a proper venue for all the claims in this case, the circuit court did not err in transferring the action to Baltimore County under forum non conveniens.

Factual Background⁴

The complaint, filed on September 24, 2013, alleges that on the evening of September 24, 2010, Mr. Edwards was involved in an automobile crash in Baltimore County in which he sustained a chest laceration as well as minor lacerations on his head and hand. Emergency responders arrived at the scene around 9:30 PM. After assessing Mr. Edwards's injuries, they transported him to Northwest Hospital Center in Randallstown, Baltimore County. Upon arrival at the hospital, Mr. Edwards complained of chest pain, noting that it was more prevalent when he took a deep breath. Dr. Patricia Melton, a physician on duty at Northwest Hospital, evaluated Mr. Edwards at 10:00 PM.Noticing the chest laceration, Dr. Melton ordered a chest x-ray, which she interpreted as negative. The complaint alleges negligence in Dr. Melton's interpretation of the x-ray.

Dr. Melton also ordered chest and head CT scans and other radiological studies. Hospital technicians completed the CT scan close to midnight, which showed internal bleeding in the chest cavity, known as a hemothorax. After receiving the CT report, Dr. Melton determined that Mr. Edwards needed to be seen by a chest surgeon or in a trauma ward for an operation to remediate the hemothorax. Unfortunately, Northwest Hospital did not have a chest surgeon on duty and was not equipped to treat Mr. Edwards's condition. Dr. Melton contacted Dr. Sylvanus Oyogoa, the attending trauma and chest surgeon at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore City, to initiate a transfer to that location.

The complaint charges that Dr. Oyogoa delayed the transfer by refusing to take Mr. Edwards initially. Dr. Melton telephoned another physician in Sinai Hospital's emergency room who accepted the transfer. At Dr. Melton's direction, an ambulance service was contacted at 1:11 AM on September 25 to transfer Mr. Edwards to Sinai Hospital, where he arrived at 2:00 AM.

Mr. Edwards's condition deteriorated rapidly at the Sinai emergency room. After a tube was placed in his chest, Mr. Edwards's blood pressure fell, causing hypotension. Dr. Segairs, a thoracic surgeon, was consulted by telephone. He instructed the team to transfer Mr. Edwards to Shock Trauma in downtown Baltimore, but by that time, Mr. Edwards's condition was not stable enough to permit him to be transferred. Mr. Edwards went into cardiac arrest and died before 4:00 AM on September 25, less than seven hours after emergency services arrived on the scene of the accident.

Mr. Edwards's family, stricken by their loss, subsequently filed suit in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City against Dr. Melton, Dr. Oyogoa, and Maryland Provo-I Medical Services, P.C. on September 24, 2013. Asserting a wrongful death claim and a medical negligence survival claim, they alleged that Dr. Melton at Northwest Hospital negligently misinterpreted the chest x-ray and failed to transfer Mr. Edwards, earlier, to the proper facility. They also alleged that Dr. Oyogoa negligently failed to recommend and accept Mr. Edwards's transfer to Sinai Hospital.

Before filing an answer to the suit, Maryland Provo-I Medical Services, P.C., and Dr. Melton filed a motion to dismiss for improper venue or transfer to the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. They argued that Baltimore County is the only proper venue under CJP §§ 6-201 and 6-202. Alternatively, they argued that it was appropriate to transfer venue to Baltimore County pursuant to Maryland Rule 2-327(c) and forum non conveniens.

The circuit court heard arguments on Defendants' motion and Plaintiffs' opposition on February 26, 2014. Ruling from the bench, the circuit court granted Defendants' motion to transfer, finding that venue was proper in Baltimore County under CJP § 6-202(8) because Baltimore County was where the cause of action arose, and also finding that transfer to Baltimore County was appropriate on grounds of forum non conveniens. The court found that the cause of action arose in the County because "the conduct of concern is all in the county, primarily in the [C]ounty." While acknowledging that Mr. Edwards passed away at Sinai Hospital, the circuit court found it dispositive that the "the primary allegations, the principal allegations" of negligent conduct "in this caseall took place at Northwest Hospital in [Baltimore County]." The court continued, "The cause of action, the survival cause of action, if you will, took place and the critical ingredients to the wrongful death action appear to have taken place at the facility in Baltimore County."

After weighing the convenience, the interests of justice, and the balancing factors, the court found that forum non conveniens dictated a transfer of venue to Baltimore County. The court acknowledged that it is important to "do more than . . . pay lip service to the plaintiff's choice of venue[,]" but cited Judge Molyan's opinion in Smith v. Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, Inc., for the principle that the plaintiff's choice of forum should not be given double weight because "'the plaintiff's entitlement to pick the forum has already been figured into the transfer calculus by virtue of allocating the burden of proof to the party requesting the transfer, and including on that party a heavy burden of persuasion.'" 209 Md. App. 406, 415 (2013) (internal citations omitted). In considering the forum non conveniens factors, the court found it significant that Dr. Melton had no venue ties to the City. On March 5, 2014, the circuit court entered an order granting the Motion to Transfer Venue, and Appellants filed their notice of appeal on March 31, 2014.⁵

I.Proper Venue

Venue is proper under CJP § 6-201(a) "in a county where the defendant resides, carries on a regular business, is employed, or habitually engages in a vocation." In cases with multiple defendants, venue is proper in a county that is common to all defendants, i.e. a county where all of the defendants do one of the following: reside, carry on a regular business, are employed, or habitually engage in a vocation. See CJP § 6-201(b). "It is not necessary for a defendant to maintain an office or have his or her principal place of business in a certain county in order for the defendant to carry on a regular business in that county." Pac. Mortgage & Inv. Grp., Ltd. v. Horn, 100 Md. App. 311, 324 (1994) (citing Dodge Park, Inc. v. Welsh, 237 Md. 570, 572-73 (1965)). Notably, the first clause of CJP § 6-201(b) is claim independent, i.e. venue is proper irrespective of whether different claims are asserted against each defendant and irrespective of where those claims arose. Cf. Wilde v. Swanson, 314 Md. 80, 92-94 (1988) (holding that CJP § 6-201 is independent of and in addition to CJP § 6-202(8)).

We review de novo the decision of the circuit court on a motion to dismiss for improper venue. Payton-Henderson v. Evans, 180 Md. App. 267, 276 (2008). We resolve that the circuit court correctly concluded that Baltimore County is a proper venue for the underlying action pursuant to CJP § 6-201 because it is the single venue applicable to all defendants. Dr. Melton works at Northwest Hospital in Baltimore County and does not practice at any other hospital in Maryland. She resides in Prince George's County and has no venue relationship to Baltimore City. Dr. Oyogoa worksregularly at both Sinai Hospital in Baltimore City and Northwest Hospital in Baltimore County. Though Maryland Provo-I lists Baltimore City as its principal place of business, it carries on regular business in Baltimore County through its employment of Dr. Melton at Northwest...