Summary judgment for orthopedic surgeon despite plaintiff’s claimed application of the discovery rule.

We obtained summary judgment on behalf of an orthopedic surgeon based on the statute of limitations despite the plaintiff’s claimed application of the discovery rule. After conducting written discovery and deposing the plaintiff to solidify that the medical professional liability action was untimely commenced, we early on filed a motion for summary judgment in an effort to avoid the incurrence of significant additional expense in defending the case through the remainder of the discovery process. At oral argument, the presiding judge commented that the matter was “extraordinarily briefed” and “even better presented.” Our success on the timeliness issue, which is almost always reserved for decision by the jury, brought a quick end to the litigation, in which there were significant liability concerns.