United Western Medical Centers v. Superior Court

Plaintiff claimed two members of a hospital’s staff sexually assaulted her. She filed a complaint for assault and battery and professional negligence against the hospital and its owner. The complaint sought punitive damages. Each defendant moved to strike the punitive damage claim, asserting plaintiff failed to comply with Code of Civil Procedure section 425.13. The trial court denied the motions, ruling section 425.13 inapplicable. The defendants petitioned for writs of mandate or prohibition which we consolidated. We issued an alternative writ and now grant the petition directing the superior court to set aside its orders denying petitioners’ motions to strike that portion of plaintiff’s complaint praying for punitive damages and to enter a new order granting the motions. The petition challenging the trial court’s overruling of the demurrer is denied.

Statement of Facts

Real party was a patient at Western Medical Center-Bartlett (Western) which is owned by United Western Medical Centers (United). Real party alleges that on August 1, 1994, while she was recovering from traumatic brain stem injury, she was sexually assaulted by Jorge Diaz, a hospital employee. As a…