Cappetta v. GC Services Ltd. Partnership

266 F.R.D. 121, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13785, 2009 WL 455257
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedFebruary 23, 2009
DocketCivil Action No. 3:08CV288
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 266 F.R.D. 121 (Cappetta v. GC Services Ltd. Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cappetta v. GC Services Ltd. Partnership, 266 F.R.D. 121, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13785, 2009 WL 455257 (E.D. Va. 2009).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

M. HANNAH LAUCK, United States Magistrate Judge.

Before the Court is Plaintiff Pamela Cappetta’s Motion to Quash Subpoenas to Her Medical Providers. (Docket No. 54.) Defendant GC Services responded to the motion. (Docket No. 61.) The matter has been fully briefed, and the Court held a hearing on January 23, 2009. Accordingly, the Motion is now ripe for adjudication.

I. Procedural Background

This matter arises out of the collection of a debt of $10,444.59 from Plaintiff by Defendant. The debt consisted of charges made to an American Express account by Plaintiffs ex-husband, who is not a party to this suit. Plaintiff denies ever having been an obligor on the account. She brought this action against Defendant, alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), the Texas Debt Collection Act (“TDCA”), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the Credit Repair Organizations Act (“CROA”), and the Virginia Credit Service Businesses Act (“VCSBA”).

Defendant issued subpoenas to five individuals who have provided medical care to Plaintiff:

• Dr. James Madjic, Plaintiffs longtime primary care physician;

• Dr. Martha Karam, a marriage counselor whom Plaintiff and her ex-husband consulted eight to ten times in the summer of 2006;

• Dr. Donnie Conner, a professional counselor who advises Plaintiff on effectively counseling her own clients;1

[123]*123• Brigitte Fox, Plaintiffs eoworker and an acupuncture therapist;

• Sue Crommelin, a counselor whom Plaintiff consulted several times a year from 2000-2005.

(Pl.’s Mem. Supp. Mot. Quash 1-2 & Exs. B, C, D, E, & F.)

Defendant’s subpoena to Dr. Madjic seeks: The complete medical records, including, but not limited to, all written documents, reports, any and all correspondence, patient questionnaire(s), memoranda, x-ray reports, invoices and billing information, etc., excluding nothing, regarding the plaintiff herein ... for the period beginning 01/01/1998 through the present.

(PL’s Mem. Supp. Mot. Quash Ex. B.) Defendant’s subpoena to Dr. Karam seeks: The complete medical, psychological, and/or psychiatric records, including, but not limited to, all written documents, reports, any and all correspondence, patient questionnaire(s), memoranda, x-ray reports, invoices and billing information, etc., excluding nothing, regarding the plaintiff herein ... for the period beginning 01/01/1998 through present.

(PL’s Mem. Supp. Mot. Quash Ex. F.)

Plaintiff has provided Defendant with her medical records from Dr. Madjic for 2007, as well as a chart detailing her prescription medication history from November 15, 2000, through September 12, 2007. She provided copies of these documents to the Court on December 5, 2008.

II. Facts Alleged

In her First Amended Complaint (Docket No. 38), Plaintiff states that her interactions over the phone with Defendant’s employees during them efforts to collect the debt from her left her “collapsed emotionally in her office, while visibly shaking and crying uncontrollably” (Am.ComplV 43); that her “heartbeat was racing such that [a coworker] became extremely concerned for Plaintiffs health” (Am.ComplV 44); that her coworker “provided medical care to the Plaintiff in their office” (Am.ComplV 45); and generally that this was a “traumatic incident” (Am. Comply 46).

Plaintiffs damages claim for Defendant’s alleged violation of the FDCPA states that “Plaintiff suffered actual damages for emotional and mental anguish, fear, frustration, and anxiety in her attempts to recover the funds that were extorted from her.” (Am. Comply 63.) She states that Defendant’s alleged violation of the TDCA caused her to experience “severe emotional distress evidenced by one or more of the following: anger, sleeplessness, crying, anxiety, fear, and humiliation,” as well as “a loss of concentration and the ability to perform her job properly.” (Am. Compl. ¶ 66 (emphases added).) Her damages claim for Defendant’s alleged violation of FCRA states that Plaintiff “suffered various types of damage ... including specifically, the intrusion into her privacy, and the emotional distress and anxiety associated with concern about future unauthorized inquiries into her personal financial information.” (Am.ComplJ 77.)

Plaintiff explained at her deposition that on the day Defendant collected the debt from her, she went into shock, and her coworker Ms. Fox cancelled all of Plaintiffs appointments for the day. (Cappetta Dep. 75:4-10.) Sometime thereafter she saw her primary care physician, Dr. Madjic, and received a prescription for antianxiety medication. (Cappetta Dep. 79:11-21.) Plaintiff regularly took this medication from June 2007 until June 2008. (Cappetta Dep. 81:15-25.) She now sees Dr. Madjic intermittently, as they agreed that she would remain on the medication until the subject matter of this lawsuit was resolved. (Cappetta Dep. 94:14-22.)

She had “difficulty focusing and concentrating at work,” and a “hard time trying to [124]*124maintain [her] professional demeanor” as a counselor. (Cappetta Dep. 85:8-18.) For a time after the collection of the debt, Plaintiff had to reduce her caseload at work because she was upset. (Cappetta Dep. 85:22-86:4.) During this time, Plaintiff would also take an afternoon off from work “every couple of weeks” in order to see Dr. Madjic. (Cappetta Dep. 93:12-15.)

III. Issue Presented

Plaintiff now moves to quash the subpoenas as to Drs. Madjic and Karam because the records sought are privileged, and because she has not put her mental state sufficiently at issue to warrant disclosure of those records. Plaintiff asserts for purposes of this motion that she “has not alleged a ‘condition’ that has occurred as a result of the Defendant’s conduct. Instead, she has alleged what the U.S. Supreme Court and the related case law has referred to as ‘garden variety’ emotional distress in the context of the related psychiatrist-patient privilege which clearly exists under the federal common law.” (PL’s Mem. Supp. Mot. Quash 4.) Plaintiff represents that she does not intend to call her treating physician or an expert witness to opine as to the severity of her emotional distress, and that she is not seeking out-of-pocket consultation damages. (Id.) Rather, she seeks damages for the distress, anxiety, and frustration she claims Defendant’s actions caused. (Id.) She does not seek reimbursement for any particular medical or psychiatric bills. Plaintiff clarifies in her reply brief that the scope of her emotional distress claim goes to her allegation that:

Defendant’s collection efforts, its threats against her credit rating, and her need to endure the stressors associated with this litigation have aggravated her existing anxiety and stress levels and have proximately caused her to endure emotional distress, on specific and discrete occasions, that she would not have suffered, but for the Defendant’s conduct.

(PL’s Reply Br. Supp. Mot. Quash 3.)

Whether Plaintiff put her mental state in issue determines whether she may claim the psychotherapist-patient privilege as to the records sought by Defendant.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
266 F.R.D. 121, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13785, 2009 WL 455257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cappetta-v-gc-services-ltd-partnership-vaed-2009.