Plaintiffs Missed Their Window for Adding the Nurse Who Allegedly Falsified Son's Threats as Defendant

In a case alleging that the administrator of a postacute and long-term care facility filed a police report falsely stating that a resident's son made a threatening statement to a nurse, the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Second Appellate District, held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the plaintiffs' motion to amend their complaint to add the nurse as a defendant and to add a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. However, the court found that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the plaintiffs' motion for an extension of time to oppose summary judgment. It thus reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the defendants and remanded the case for further proceedings.

While visiting the resident one evening, the son voiced concerns about his father's care to one of the nurses. According to the nurse, the son yelled at her and said, "I want to hit you right now." The nurse informed the director of nursing, who informed the administrator. In accordance with an organizational employee safety policy requiring all threats of violence against employees to be reported to the police, the administrator contacted the police. The police completed an incident report, issued a notice of criminal trespass to the son, and told him not to return to the facility. In the notice of criminal trespass, the officer...