Campbell v. St John Hospital

We granted leave to appeal in this case limited to the following two questions: (1) whether an agreement under the Malpractice Arbitration Act (maa) deprives a circuit court of jurisdiction to resolve a controversy, and (2) whether a defendant waives enforcement of an arbitration agreement by failing to assert the existence of the agreement in the first responsive pleading. We find that such an agreement does not oust the court of jurisdiction and that it must be asserted in the first responsive pleading. We remand this case to the circuit court for further proceedings.

I. FACTS

On January 3,…