Charles A Weiss is a partner in Holland &
Knight's
New York office
Mrs. Skounakis died of a coronary artery occlusion after being
prescribed an unusual combination of drugs (phendimetrazine and
liothyronine) by Dr. Sotillo for weight loss. Her husband sued Dr.
Sotillo for malpractice. What makes this case interesting to those
other than the parties is the claim Mrs. Skounakis' husband
also brought against Dr. G's Franchising Companies LLC
("Dr. G"), which provided Dr. Sotillo with a proprietary
software package that was said to have endorsed the combination of
drugs alleged to have caused Mrs. Skounakis' death.
The case was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, which
held that the plaintiffs' expert witness was not qualified to
render his opinions and accordingly granted summary judgment in
favor of both Dr. G and Dr. Sotillo. In March 2018, the Appellate
Division reversed, holding that the trial court erred in excluding
the plaintiffs' expert and hence
