Thomas Kopp v. Physician Group of Az

Summary

The court held that plaintiffs’ stipulated dismissal with prejudice of their surgeon did not bar independent negligence claims against the hospital, even though proving those claims required establishing the surgeon’s negligence. The court distinguished independent hospital negligence from vicarious liability and held that issue preclusion did not apply because the surgeon’s negligence was never actually litigated and the settlement expressly preserved the independent claims. The court vacated the court of appeals’ decision, reversed the trial court’s dismissal, and remanded for further proceedings.