Supreme Court of Delaware

In an appeal from a jury verdict for defendants in a medical malpractice action arising from a patient's death allegedly due to sepsis, the judgment is vacated in part where the trial judge abused her discretion when, after the jury verdict and entry of judgment, she dismissed the case sua sponte in the absence of a showing of fraud in the judicial process. However, the judgment is otherwise affirmed over plaintiff's claims that the trial judges abused their respective discretion on several evidentiary issues, in permitting a particular individual to sit as a juror, and in instructing the jury and addressing its questions.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/06/2006
• Published 12/11/2006

Judges

• STEELE, Chief Justice:, Before STEELE, Chief Justice, BERGER and RIDGELY, Justices.

Court

• Supreme Court of Delaware

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• John C. Phillips, Jr., Joseph J. Farnan, III, Brian E. Farnan (argued), Phillips, Goldman & Spence, P.A., Wilmington, DE, for appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Mason E. Turner, Jr. (argued), Prickett, Jones & Elliott, P.A., Wilmington, DE;  Colleen D. Shields (argued), Elzufon, Austin, Reardon, Tarlov & Mondell, P.A., Wilmington, DE, for appellees.