Johnson v. Atlas

1 Because there are many plaintiffs and defendants involved
in these proceedings, there are also many attorneys. We are
therefore listing only the counsel who presented at oral argument
before this court.
2007 UT 67
This opinion is subject to revision before final
publication in the Pacific Reporter.
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF UTAH
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Hazel Rae Johnson, et al., No. 20050858
Plaintiffs and Appellants,
v.
F I L E D
Atlas Turner, Inc., et al.,
Defendants and Appellees. August 24, 2007
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Third District, Salt Lake
The Honorable Glenn K. Iwasaki
No. 020906603
Attorneys:1 Gilbert L. Purcell, Novato, CA, for plaintiffs
Patricia W. Christensen, Salt Lake City, for
defendants
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NEHRING, Justice:
¶1 We heard this appeal in conjunction with three other
cases that share the same facts and issues that are relevant to
this case. We discuss the facts and issues relevant to the four
cases in Carbaugh v. Asbestos Corp. Ltd., 2007 UT 65, __ P.3d __,
which we also release today. In that opinion, we held that the
plaintiffs’ medical expert, Dr. Schonfeld, did not violate the
Utah Medical Practice Act, Utah Code Ann. §§ 58-67-101 to -803
(2002 & Supp. 2005), when he, as a physician not licensed to
practice medicine in Utah, conducted physical examinations of the
plaintiffs in Utah as part of his preparations to testify at
trial. Accordingly, we held that the district court erred in
finding that Dr. Schonfeld, as a physician unlicensed to practice
medicine in Utah, was unreliable as an expert witness and
unavailable to testify at trial on behalf of the plaintiffs. We
therefore reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment

No. 20050858 2
and remand for further proceedings pursuant to the principles
announced in Carbaugh.
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¶2 Chief Justice Durham, Associate Chief Justice Wilkins,
Justice Durrant, and Justice Parrish concur in Justice Nehring’s
opinion.