## Facts

- In 1997, Athan Montgomery was born with severe brain damage after Dr. Gregory Drezga attempted a forceps delivery.
- A jury found for Heidi J. Judd (individually and as Athan’s guardian) against Dr. Drezga and Tooele Valley Regional Medical Center.
- The jury awarded $22,735.30 for past life-maintenance expenses, $1,000,000 for future life-maintenance expenses, and $1,250,000 in noneconomic damages for Athan’s diminished life experiences.
- Utah Code Ann. § 78-14-7.1 (applicable to injuries occurring before July 1, 2001) capped noneconomic damages in medical malpractice actions at $250,000.
- After verdict, defendants moved to reduce the noneconomic award under the statutory cap; the trial court reduced the noneconomic damages from $1,250,000 to $250,000.
- Judd appealed, arguing the noneconomic damages cap was unconstitutional under the Utah Constitution.

## Issues

1. Whether the medical malpractice noneconomic damages cap violated the Utah Constitution’s open courts/remedy clause by limiting recovery after a jury found malpractice and set damages.
2. Whether the cap violated equal protection under the Utah Constitution by disproportionately burdening severely injured malpractice plaintiffs.
3. Whether the cap unconstitutionally infringed the right to jury trial or separation of powers by reducing the jury’s damages award as a matter of law.

## Decision

- The Utah Supreme Court affirmed the judgment reducing noneconomic damages to $250,000 under Utah Code Ann. § 78-14-7.1.
- The court held the cap did not violate the open courts/remedy clause because it limited only a component of damages and did not abolish the cause of action or deny a meaningful remedy.
- The court held the cap did not violate equal protection; applying rational-basis review, it accepted that limiting noneconomic awards could rationally relate to controlling malpractice insurance costs and preserving access to medical services.
- The court held the cap did not violate the jury trial right or separation of powers because the jury still determined the full amount of damages, while the statutory cap operated as a legal limit on the enforceable judgment.

## Legal Principles

- Noneconomic damages in tort compensate for pain and suffering and diminished enjoyment of life, as distinct from economic losses such as medical costs and lost earning capacity.
- The remedy clause guarantees access to courts and a meaningful remedy, but it does not constitutionalize a particular common-law measure of damages or prevent legislative limits on categories of recovery.
- Statutory caps on noneconomic damages may be upheld when they leave the cause of action intact and operate as a post-verdict legal constraint on the judgment rather than displacing the jury’s fact-finding role.
- For social and economic legislation, equal protection challenges are generally evaluated under rational-basis review; a cap may be sustained if any rational legislative purpose supports the classification.

## Conclusion

The Utah Supreme Court upheld Utah’s pre-2001 medical malpractice cap on noneconomic damages and affirmed reduction of the jury’s noneconomic award to $250,000, concluding the cap permissibly limited recovery without violating the Utah Constitution’s remedy clause, equal protection guarantees, or the jury trial right.


Judd v. Drezga, 103 P.3d 135 (Utah 2004)