Jordan v. Pa. State Univ.

276 A.3d 751

Ellison O. JORDAN, Appellant

v.The PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, Sandy Barbour, Charmelle Green, James Franklin, Andy Mutnan, Renee Messina, Scott A. Lynch, M.D., Peter H. Seidenberg, M.D., John S. Reid, M.D., Brendan M. Carr, Tim Bream, Wes Sohns, Penn State Health, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Medical Group, and Mount Nittany Health

No. 76 MDA 2021

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued March 4, 2022

Filed May 9, 2022

Reargument Denied July 13, 2022

Allen P. Neely, State College, for Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Medical Group, Seidenberg, Reid, and Penn State Health, appellees.

April C. Simpson, State College, for Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Medical Group, Seidenberg, Reid, and Penn State Health, appellees.

Brian J. Bluth, Williamsport, for Mount Nittany Health, appellee.

Marc F. Lovecchio, Williamsport, for Mount Nittany Health, appellee.

Carol A. Steinour Young, Harrisburg, for The Pennsylvania State University, Barbour, Green, and Franklin, appellees.

James P. DeAngelo, Harrisburg, for The Pennsylvania State University, Barbour, Green, and Franklin, appellees.

John U. Baker, State College, for The Pennsylvania State University, Barbour, Green, and Franklin, appellees.

Scott E. Diamond, Philadelphia, for Mutnan, Messina, Carr, Bream, and Sohns, appellees.

Joe H. Tucker, Jr., Pittsburgh, for Mutnan, Messina, Carr, Bream and Sohns, appellees.

Wiley P. Parker, Lebanon, for Lynch, appellee.

Ellison O. Jordan, Upper Marlboro, MD, appellant, pro se.

BEFORE: OLSON, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.^*

OPINION BY STEVENS, P.J.E.:

Appellant, Ellison O. Jordan, appeals pro se from the December 4, 2020¹ order sustaining the preliminary objections filed by Appellees, The Pennsylvania State University, Sandy Barbour, Charmelle Green, and James Franklin (hereinafter, "University Appellees"); granting the petitions filed by Appellees, Scott A. Lynch, M.D., Mount Nittany Health, Andy Mutnan, Renee Messina, Brendan M. Carr, Tim Bream, Wes Sohns, Peter H. Seidenberg, M.D., John S. Reid, M.D., Penn State Health, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and the Penn State Hershey Medical Group (thereafter, "Healthcare Appellees"), to hold Appellant in contempt of court; and dismissing Appellant's amended complaint and supplemental amended complaint with prejudice. Appellant also appeals from the December 23, 2020 order denying his motion to recuse President Judge Pamela A. Ruest from this case. For the following reasons, we affirm.

The trial court summarized the relevant facts and lengthy procedural history of this case as follows:

This case arises from injuries [Appellant] allegedly sustained during his time as a student-athlete on the Penn State University football team between June 2016 and August 2019. [Appellant's] cause of action specifically focuses on his treatment following a December 27, 2017 surgery to repair a right knee patellar fracture he suffered while practicing for the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona. [Appellant] alleges he reinjured his knee on January 8, 2018 while receiving treatment from Wes Sohns, which required [Appellant] to undergo surgery on January 12, 2018. In April 2018, [Appellant] reported feeling pain and discomfort in his right knee. In September 2018, [Appellant] was evaluated for reported pain and swelling in his right knee, which was attributed to tendinitis and the prominence of the plate placed during surgery, but did not rule out the possibility of an infection.

Between September and November 2018, [Appellant] continued to experience right knee pain and [Appellant] underwent a right knee arthroscopy on November 21, 2018. On November 25, 2018, [Appellant] and his parents attended a meeting with fifteen (15) representatives of Penn State University, who asked [Appellant] to sign a document voluntarily withdrawing himself from the football team. On December 30, 2018, [Appellant] was taken to the Emergency Room due to extreme knee pain and swelling. [Appellant] informed James Franklin on January 5, 2019 that his right knee was infected and [Appellant] underwent surgery to address the infection on January 8, 2019. On August 19, 2019, [Appellant] was removed from the Penn State football team.

[Appellant] originally filed a complaint on January 31, 2020 based on a theory of medical malpractice. University [Appellees] filed preliminary objections on February 24, 2020. [Appellant] filed a certificate of merit for each [Appellee] on February 28, 2020, but failed to file a written statement from an appropriate licensed professional with the certificates of merit. All of the named [Appellees] other than the University [Appellees] filed a Notice of Intention to Enter Judgment of Non Pros for Failure to File a Written Statement from an Appropriate Licensed Professional between March 4 and March 11, 2020. [Appellant] filed an Answer to [Appellees'] Notices on April 17, 2020. On May 12 and May 13, 2020, the Centre County Prothonotary's Office entered Judgment of Non Pros in favor of all [Appellees] other than the University [Appellees].

On June 1, 2020, [Appellant] filed a Petition for Relief of Judgment of Non Pros requesting the court strike the judgments and restore [Appellant's] complaint in its entirety. Between June 12 and June 22, 2020, each of the [Appellees] filed a response seeking to uphold their Judgment of Non Pros. A hearing was held on June 25, 2020. On July 15, 2020, the court entered an opinion and order denying [Appellant's] petition for relief, sustaining the University [Appellees'] preliminary objections, and dismissing [Appellant's] medical malpractice claims with prejudice. The court dismissed [Appellant's] complaint and allowed [Appellant] to file an amended complaint within twenty (20) days against only the University [Appellees] and only raising potential claims of intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress and ordinary negligence. [Appellant] filed a petition for reconsideration on July 24, 2020, which was denied by the court on July 30, 2020.

[Appellant] filed an amended complaint on August 3, 2020, and a supplemental amended complaint on August 12, 2020, both of which included claims against all of the [Appellees] from [Appellant's] original complaint. Between August 7 and August 14, 2020, counsel for all of the [Appellees] except for the University [Appellees] sent letters to [Appellant] requesting that he remove them from his amended complaint or they would seek to hold [Appellant] in contempt of court. [Appellant] failed to respond and [Appellees Scott A. Lynch, M.D., Mount Nittany Health, Andy Mutnan, Renee Messina, Brendan M. Carr, Tim Bream, Wes Sohns, Peter H. Seidenberg, M.D., John S. Reid, M.D., Penn State Health, The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and the Penn State Hershey Medical Group] each filed a petition to hold [Appellant] in contempt of court.

On August 24, 2020, [Appellant] filed notices of intention to enter default judgments against each [Appellee] because they allegedly failed to enter a written appearance and file in writing with the court their defenses or objections to [Appellant's] amended complaint. University [Appellees] file preliminary objections and a brief in support on August 31, 2020. [Appellant] filed a praecipe for determination on September 3, 2020 alleging University [Appellees'] preliminary objections were not filed in accordance with Pennsylvania law for failing to serve [Appellant] a copy of their preliminary objections. [Appellant] filed a response in opposition to University [Appellees'] preliminary objections on September 16, 2020, and an answer to order to show cause on October 9, 2020. [Appellant] also filed a statement of support on October 19, 2020. A hearing was held on October 12, 2020.

Trial court opinion, 12/4/20 at 2-4 (extraneous capitalization omitted).

On December 4, 2020, the trial court entered an opinion and order sustaining the University Appellees' preliminary objections; holding Appellant in contempt of court; and dismissing Appellant's amended complaint and supplemental amended complaint with prejudice. On December 15, 2020, Appellant filed a motion to recuse P.J. Ruest from this case, which was denied by the trial court on December 23, 2020.

On January 6, 2021, Appellant filed a notice of appeal. Although not ordered to do so, Appellant filed an eight-page Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement on May 12, 2021. The trial court filed its Rule 1925(a) opinion on May 20, 2021, indicating that it was relying on the reasoning set forth in its prior opinion and orders entered December 4 and 23, 2020.

Appellant raises the following issues for our review:

1. Did the [trial] court ignore the law, errored [sic] in applying the law, misinterpreted [sic] the law and/or abuse its discretion in issuing the correspondence, in identifying the case as only medical malpractice, in processing the case on an "aggressive fast track" without any established written local procedures, in not providing definitive goals and objects and making them know to all parties involved and denying [Appellant] a right to jury trial as demanded?

2. Did the [trial] court ignore the law, errored [sic] in applying the law, misinterpreted [sic] the law and/or abuse its discretion concerning all pleadings, notices, judgments, opinions and orders concerning the Certificate of Merit of the original Complaint, Amended Complaint and Supplemental Amended Complaint?

3. Did the [trial] court ignore the law, errored [sic] in applying the law, misinterpreted [sic] the law and/or abuse its discretion concerning the service of process?

4. Did the [trial] court ignore the law, errored [sic] in applying the law, misinterpreted [sic] the law and/or abuse its discretion concerning Preliminary Objections?

5. Did the [trial] court ignore the law, errored [sic] in applying the law, misinterpreted [sic] the law and/or abuse its discretion concerning her personal interest in the outcome of the case and

...