JAMES v. BANNER HEALTH

── JAMES v. BANNER HEALTH ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: June 01, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE. IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE SUSAN JAMES, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. BANNER HEALTH, et al., Defendants/Appellees. No. 1 CA-CV 25-0541 FILED 06-01-2026 Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. CV2022-007903 The Honorable Michael J. Herrod, Judge AFFIRMED COUNSEL The Roll Law Office PLLC, Phoenix By Guy P. Roll Counsel for Plaintiff/Appellant Coury Krolls Dean & DaPena PC, Phoenix By Renee M. Coury Co-Counsel for Defendants/Appellees Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC, Phoenix By Rita J. Bustos Co-Counsel for Defendants/Appellees  JAMES v. BANNER HEALTH, et al. Decision of the Court MEMORANDUM DECISION Judge Cynthia J. Bailey delivered the decision of the Court, in which Presiding Judge Daniel J. Kiley and Judge D. Steven Williams joined. B A I L E Y, Judge: ¶1 Susan James appeals from the final judgment dismissing her medical malpractice and wrongful death claims with prejudice and from the denial of her motion for a new trial. For the following reasons, we affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¶2 In June 2020, Banner Health (“Banner”), four of its employed physicians, Neil Mody, Nithya Krishnaswamy, Adebowole Oyelakin, and Edward Charles (collectively “the Banner Defendants”), and two non- Banner employed physicians, Amir Moasser, and Ariv Swaminathan, provided healthcare services to Teyola Lynn James for septicemia, acute kidney injury, and cardiogenic shock. Teyola died on June 21, 2020.1 ¶3 In June 2022, Teyola’s mother, Susan, filed a complaint for medical malpractice and wrongful death against the Banner Defendants, Moasser, and Swaminathan. Susan sought and obtained three extensions of time to serve the defendants. ¶4 The superior court placed the case on the dismissal calendar and subsequently continued the dismissal date to June 26, 2023. In the court’s notice of placement on the dismissal calendar, it stated the case would be dismissed unless one of the following actions was taken: a joint report and proposed scheduling order was filed, a comprehensive pretrial conference was set, a final judgment was entered, or a motion to continue on the dismissal calendar demonstrating good cause was filed. Susan advised the court that she “anticipate[d] that [the parties] will have filed a Joint Report and Proposed Scheduling Order” by June 26, 2023. Because that date passed and Susan did not comply with the order, the court dismissed the case on July 13, 2023. Not until late March 2023—nine 1 Because Teyola Lynn James and her mother share the same last name, we respectfully refer to them by their first names for clarity and convenience. 2  JAMES v. BANNER HEALTH, et al. Decision of the Court months after filing the complaint—did Susan serve Banner, Moasser, and Swaminathan.2 She never served the Banner-employed physicians. ¶5 Susan moved to set aside the dismissal and reinstate the case based on her having inadvertently missed the compliance deadline. The court granted the motion, reinstated the case, and ordered service to be completed by November 15, 2023. Susan ultimately never served the Banner-employed physicians, who nonetheless answered the complaint on February 9, 2024. ¶6 In a joint report filed in preparation for a scheduled comprehen