Susan Ronnfeldt v. Shelby County Chris A. Myrtue Memorial Hospital d/b/a Myrtue Medical Center and Shelby County Medical Corporation

Summary

The Iowa Supreme Court held that Iowa Code section 147.140's certificate-of-merit dismissal requirement can be harmonized with Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.943. Because the plaintiff's voluntary dismissal was self-executing and filed before the applicable deadline, it terminated the case and deprived the district court of jurisdiction to adjudicate the defendants' motion to dismiss with prejudice. The court reversed the district court's order.

Holdings

1. The provisions can be harmonized. Section 147.140 governs while a live case exists, but it does not create an immediate or vested right to a dismissal with prejudice upon the filing of a defendant's motion. A proper first voluntary dismissal under rule 1.943 ends the case without prejudice and leaves nothing for section 147.140 to dismiss.
2. The district court lacked jurisdiction to rule on Myrtue's section 147.140 motion after Ronnfeldt voluntarily dismissed her case. The dismissal mooted the motion, and the district court's subsequent order was void.
3. Ronnfeldt's constitutional separation-of-powers challenge was not preserved for appellate review because she did not raise it in the district court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Iowa Code section 147.140, which requires dismissal with prejudice for failure to substantially comply with the medical-malpractice certificate-of-merit requirement, conflicts with Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.943's authorization for a first voluntary dismissal without prejudice.
2. Whether the district court retained jurisdiction to adjudicate the defendants' section 147.140 motion after the plaintiff filed a self-executing voluntary dismissal under rule 1.943.
3. Whether Ronnfeldt preserved her constitutional separation-of-powers challenge to section 147.140.

Disposition

reversed