Background
Leslie Cabral, as personal representative of Leonard Cabral Jr.’s estate, and Nicholas Cabral sued Pali Momi Medical Center. Before the first trial, the circuit court granted Pali Momi partial summary judgment on the Cabrals’ claim that the hospital was vicariously liable for alleged medical negligence by Dr. Shayne M. Castanera.
In an August 18, 2026 opinion, the Intermediate Court of Appeals vacated that partial-summary-judgment ruling and remanded for a trial limited to the vicarious-liability claim. Pali Momi sought reconsideration, arguing that the remand improperly suggested that Nicholas could revive a wrongful-death claim and that prior trial rulings should bind Leslie and Leonard Cabral Sr.
The Court’s Holding
The court denied reconsideration. It clarified that its prior opinion did not resurrect Nicholas’s wrongful-death claim, which had been dismissed before trial and was not appealed. Nicholas may pursue his negligent-infliction-of-emotional-distress claim on the remanded vicarious-liability theory.
The court also rejected Pali Momi’s contention that rulings from the first trial would necessarily control Leslie’s and Senior’s negligent-infliction-of-emotional-distress and wrongful-death claims on remand. Those rulings rested on the record developed at the first trial and were not affirmed; the appellate court had declined to decide their correctness because the first jury’s no-liability finding made the issues moot. Whether the Cabrals can support those claims on remand will depend on the evidence actually presented regarding Pali Momi’s vicarious liability for Dr. Castanera’s acts or omissions.
Key Takeaways
- The remand remains limited to trying Pali Momi’s alleged vicarious liability for Dr. Castanera’s alleged negligence.
- Nicholas’s previously dismissed wrongful-death claim was not revived.
- Prior trial rulings do not automatically foreclose claims supported by the evidentiary record made in the remanded trial.
Why It Matters
The order delineates the scope of the remand after reversal of partial summary judgment: the case returns for a vicarious-liability trial, not for revival of an unappealed wrongful-death claim. It also leaves claim viability on remand to the proof developed under that liability theory rather than treating the first trial’s record as dispositive.