Monfore v. Phillips

Sherman Shatwell's cancer diagnosis went undelivered to him after hospital testing, and by the time he learned of it a year later the previously treatable cancer had become fatal; his widow (plaintiff) sued the treating doctors, including Dr. Kenneth Phillips, and the hospital (defendants). For nearly two years, all defendants jointly denied negligence and maintained a united defense, carrying that position into the final pretrial order — but two weeks before trial, some co-defendants settled, and Phillips then moved to amend the pretrial order to add a new theory blaming the settling defendants for the negligence instead. The trial court denied the motion, the jury found against Phillips and awarded the plaintiff roughly $1 million, and Phillips appealed the denial of leave to amend.