| 02/05/2005 |
| Judge blasts defendant in mistrial |
| BY MICHAEL McNARNEY / STAFF WRITER |
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Doctor's 'disdain for authority' cited in case
involving letter
Judge Corbett's written order doesn't
change her Jan. 19 verbal order -- that there was a mistrial and
that Dr. Caucci owes at least $10,000 in plaintiff's attorney's
fees.Dr. David J. Caucci of Clarks Summit was castigated Friday by Judge Trish Corbett, who wrote that the doctor's wife was trying to taint the jury at his January medical malpractice trial when she wrote a letter to the editor about malpractice lawsuits. But the order gives her an opportunity to put thoughts to paper, and to write that Mrs. Caucci's letter was an attempt to taint the jury. "(Dr. Caucci) was observed making sarcastic grins and other obtuse facial expressions at every opportunity," Judge Corbett wrote. "To the Court the Defendant's behavior showed an obvious disdain for its authority and a total lack of respect to the Court." In light of Elizabeth Caucci's letter, published in The Scranton Times on the first day of her husband's trial, the judge wrote that she believed something bigger was at work. "Defendant's actions appear to be more calculating and contemptuous," Judge Corbett wrote. "The Defendant admitted the letter, at least in part, was designed to taint the jury." The letter, published on Jan. 18, carried the headline "Malpractice Suits a Major Drawback." It says that a majority of people surveyed favor award caps, and that "the medical liability crisis" is making health care worse. Judge Corbett called the letter inflammatory, noting that Mrs. Caucci wrote the letter the week before the trial knowing the trial date and knowing, as a frequent author of letters to the editor, that there is a turnaround time of a few days before publication. The letter was published on the trial's first day. Mrs. Caucci has a right to "publish a letter pontificating on the subject of malpractice or any other letter," the judge wrote, but "when the specific purpose of that expression or publication is designed to taint the jury and ultimately impact its ability to make unbiased decisions in Defendant's own trial, that action is going beyond the freedoms allowed." As punishment, Dr. Caucci was ordered to pay the plaintiff's legal fees -- estimated at $10,000 or more. The money must come not from Dr. Caucci's insurer but from his pocket because "it was the action of his wife that caused the mistrial and because it was admitted that the purpose of the letter was, at least in part, to taint the jury." Dr. Caucci was sued by Lawrence and Louise Mekic of the North Pocono area in 2001. The couple alleges that he failed to diagnose a torn ligament in Mr. Mekic's knee that he suffered in a 1999 fall from a forklift. Mr. Mekic, 55, is now disabled and no longer works as a foreman on a rigging crew. He can walk but not run. Attempts Friday to reach the Cauccis and their lawyer, John T. McGrath of Scranton, were unsuccessful.
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