Shannon Montgomery and John David Montgomery as the Lawful Heirs of David E. Montgomery, Deceased v. SmithKline Beecham Corporation f/k/a GlaxoWellcome, Inc., d/b/a GlaxoSmithKline; Edward Gore, M.D.; North Mississippi Medical Center; North Mississippi Family Medical Clinic, Inc., d/b/a Chickasaw Family Medical Clinic; and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of a medical-malpractice and wrongful-death action arising from the death allegedly caused by Allopurinol. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate good cause and diligence for repeatedly failing to timely serve process under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 4(h), and concluded that the statute of limitations had run. Justice Easley dissented, reasoning that the death of the attorney handling the case constituted good cause for the extension.

Holdings

1. Plaintiffs failed to demonstrate good cause and diligence sufficient to excuse their failure to serve process within the 120-day period required by Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 4(h). Counsel changes, failure to confer with clients, failure to transfer or review the file, and the death of an attorney did not establish the required diligence on this record.
2. The court did not need to resolve whether the trial court was bound by its prior extension orders because plaintiffs' failure to demonstrate good cause independently required affirmance of the dismissal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiffs demonstrated good cause under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 4(h) for failing to serve process within 120 days after filing the complaint.
2. Whether the trial court was bound by its own orders granting extensions of time for service of process and purporting to relate those extensions back to earlier orders.

Disposition

affirmed