Sidney Lundy Claire Lundy v. Adamar of New Jersey, Inc., T/a Trop World, Defendant/third Party v. Dr. Domenic Frank Carlino, Individually Dr. Domenic Frank Carlino, a Professional Association, Third-Party
34 F.3d 1173 · Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · 1994
Facts
Sidney Lundy suffered a heart attack at TropWorld Casino and was assisted by patrons and TropWorld's nurse. The nurse did not provide an intubation kit, which was available on premises, when requested by a doctor, citing casino policy. Lundy and his wife sued TropWorld, and later sought to add Dr. Carlino, the independent contractor providing medical services, as a direct defendant after the statute of limitations expired.
Issue
The court considered what duty TropWorld owed to Lundy regarding medical care and whether the Lundys' motion to amend their complaint to add Dr. Carlino as a defendant could relate back under Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(c).
Holding
The court affirmed summary judgment for TropWorld, finding it fulfilled its duty to provide basic first aid and procure medical care, and was protected by the Good Samaritan Act. The court also affirmed the denial of the motion to amend, holding that the claim against Dr. Carlino did not relate back because he did not know or should not have known he was an intended defendant due to a mistake in identity.
Rule
Under New Jersey law, a landowner open to the public has a duty to provide first aid and procure appropriate medical care for patrons, and the Good Samaritan Act protects those rendering aid in good faith. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(c) permits relation back of an amendment changing a party only if the new party received notice and knew or should have known that, but for a mistake concerning identity, they would have been sued within the Rule 4(m) period.
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