Monahan v. Washburn

The sole issue on this appeal is whether the dismissal of plaintiffs’ complaint for want of prosecution was an appropriate sanction where the principal plaintiff (Mona-*127han), for medical reasons, was unable to be present in the courtroom on the scheduled date for the trial of his medical malpractice action. The Appeals Court, pursuant to its rule 1:28 (summary disposition), issued an order vacating and reversing the dismissal, and remanding the case for further proceedings. 23 Mass. App. Ct. 1103 (1986). We allowed the application of the defendant, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, for further…