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June 9, 2020
Doe v. Marten (2020) 49 Cal.App.5th 1022
In this medical malpractice case, patient Jane Doe sued Dr. Timothy Marten, a plastic surgeon, for medical negligence and battery arising from an allegedly botched face and neck procedure. Doe, an attorney, demanded that Dr. Marten arbitrate her claims based on an arbitration agreement she had signed with a different doctor. Dr. Marten, not realizing that he had never agreed to arbitrate, selected an arbitrator and proceeded with the arbitration.
The parties eventually realized the arbitration agreement was not applicable to their case and the trial court allowed the malpractice claim to go to a jury. The jury returned a verdict for Doe, but the trial court later found the malpractice claim was time barred by the medical negligence statute of limitations, Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5.
The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that Dr. Marten was equitably estopped from asserting the statute of limitations as a bar to Doe’s claim because he had induced Doe to refrain from filing a timely suit by proceeding with Doe's invalid arbitration demand.