Vega v. Jordan Valley Medical Center, 2019 UT 35 (July 19, 2019)

The Utah Health Care Malpractice Act requires a plaintiff to obtain a certificate of compliance from the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) before filing suit.  The court held that this requirement of the Malpractice Act is unconstitutional because it violates the judicial power provision, by allowing DOPL to exercise the core judicial function of ordering the final disposition of claims without judicial review.  Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded the case to be tried on its merits.