Suter

I. BACKGROUND

This case unfolds with a series of tragic circumstances, missed opportunities, and untimely steps. Appellants Horace and Barbara Suter had a teenage daughter who was institu- tionalized at the Truckee Meadows Hospital and Rehabilita- tion Center and treated by Dr. Tannenbaum. The Suters came to believe that their daughter was being abused at the facility, and retained the Goedert firm to bring a personal injury law- suit on behalf of themselves and their daughter against the hospital and physicians. Although their daughter’s claims were settled and the Suters’ claims against the hospital were settled, the Suters’ claims against the physicians proceeded to trial. Following trial, judgment was entered against the Suters on the physicians’ counterclaim for over two hundred thou- sand dollars.

Following the adverse judgment, Dr. Howle, the facility’s chief of staff, was deposed in another case and admitted SUTER v. GOEDERT 13351 knowledge of one of Dr. Tannenbaum’s unconventional if not unscientific therapies administered to patients like the Suter’s daughter at the facility. The Suters also later learned that a partner in the Goedert firm…