Samaha v. Rau

Summary

The Louisiana Supreme Court reversed the court of appeal and reinstated the district court's summary judgment dismissing the Samahas' medical malpractice claims against Dr. Rau. It held that a defendant-movant who will not bear the burden of proof at trial satisfies his initial burden under La. C.C.P. art. 966 C(2) merely by pointing out the plaintiff's lack of expert medical testimony, without submitting his own expert affidavit or deposition, and that the burden then shifts to the plaintiff, whose unsworn, indefinite interrogatory responses here failed to show she could carry her evidentiary burden at trial. The court further held that a certified medical review panel opinion is admissible expert evidence usable to support summary judgment, the statute's 'not conclusive' caveat meaning only that the opinion does not preclude a later lawsuit, and that any deficiency in the accompanying affidavit was a formal defect the plaintiffs waived by failing to move to strike.