No. 30233 Wednesday, Setember 14, 2011, 10:00 a.m.

GREGORY ALLEN SLINGLUFF, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. STATE OF HAWAI`I; STATE OF HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; HALAWA CORRECTIONAL FACILITY; DR. PATEL; NURSE MIKE; NURSE BARBARA; DR. ABBRUZZESE; DR. SISAR PADERES, Defendants-Appellants, and DOE NURSES 1-10; DOE DOCTORS 1-10; DOE HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS 1-10, AND DOE ENTITIES 1-10, Defendants.

Attorney(s) for Defendants-Appellants: David Louie, Attorney General; Caron M. Inagaki and Kendall J. Moser, Deputy Attorneys General

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff-Appellee: Richard Turbin, Rai Saint Chu and Janice D. Heidt (Turbin Chu, A Law Corp.) Francis L. Jung (Jung & Vassar, P.C., A Law Corp.)

COURT: Nakamura, CJ; Fujise and Leonard, JJ.

SPECIAL NOTE: The above argument will take place in the Supreme Court courtroom on the Second Floor of Ali`iolani Hale, 417 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawai`i.

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Brief Description:
Defendants-Appellants State of Hawai`i (State), Department of Public Safety (DPS), Halawa Correctional Facility (HCF), Dr. Salvatore Abbruzzese (Dr. Abbruzzese), and Dr. Sisar Paderes (Dr. Paderes) appeal from the November 12, 2009 Final Judgment entered by the Circuit Court of the First Circuit (Circuit Court) on, inter alia, the Circuit Court’s March 12, 2009 order denying Dr. Abbruzzese and Dr. Paderes’s motion for summary judgment, and the court’s
findings of fact (FOFs) and conclusions of law (COLs), which were entered after a bench trial in this case. The threshold issue in this case is whether the doctrine of qualified immunity extends to a state-employed prison physician who allegedly commits medical malpractice in conjunction with the diagnosis and treatment of an inmate. Appellants further contend, inter alia, that the Circuit Court erred when it found that the defendant doctors caused Plaintiff-Appellee Gregory Allen Slingluff’s loss of fertility.