Congratulations to Kirk Pittard and Leighton Durham who successfully convinced the Dallas Court of Appeals to not only dismiss an appeal, but to sanction both the defense attorney and his doctor client for pursuing a frivolous appeal. The “cow in the road” appeal, which stems from serious injuries our client suffered when he ran into a cow owned by a former doctor, began when the former doctor argued that, simply because he was a doctor, the personal injury case was actually a healthcare liability claim which required a Chapter 74 expert report. The trial court denied the doctor’s motion, and the doctor appealed. Following the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion in Ross v. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, 462 S.W.3d 496 (Tex. 2015), Leighton sent opposing counsel a letter notifying him that, in light of Ross, the appeal was frivolous and should be dismissed. When he refused to do so, Kirk and Leighton asked that the appeal be dismissed and that they be awarded all attorneys’ fees incurred in defending the frivolous appeal. On February 9, 2016, the Dallas Court of Appeals agreed that the appeal was frivolous and sanctioned both the defense counsel and the doctor. You can read about the case in the Texas Lawyer here, or Law360.com here. A copy of the court’s opinion can be found here.
