Cunningham v. Southlake Center for Mental Health, Inc.

125 F.R.D. 474, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7103, 1989 WL 47091
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedMay 8, 1989
DocketCiv. No. H 87-376
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 125 F.R.D. 474 (Cunningham v. Southlake Center for Mental Health, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cunningham v. Southlake Center for Mental Health, Inc., 125 F.R.D. 474, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7103, 1989 WL 47091 (N.D. Ind. 1989).

Opinion

ORDER

ANDREW P. RODOVICH, United States Magistrate.

This matter is before the Court on a Motion for Order Compelling Discovery filed by the plaintiff, Elliott C. Cunningham, on January 23,1989. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is GRANTED.

Background

Effective August 26, 1985, Cunningham was employed by the Southlake Center for Mental Health, Inc., as a counselor and was assigned to the Lake County Jail to work with jail inmates pursuant to a contract between Southlake and Lake County, Indiana. By memorandum dated June 16, 1986, from Steven J. Dopson, Cunningham’s supervisor, Cunningham was asked to resign, and by a second memorandum also dated June 16, 1986, from Dopson, Cunningham was notified that “effective immediately your employment with South-lake Center for Mental Health is being terminated.” The memorandum indicated that the “reason for your termination at this time is your requesting, accepting, and consuming food from the food carts intended for the inmates.”

On June 25, 1987, Cunningham filed a Complaint against Southlake, Lee C. Strawhun, President of Southlake, Lake County, and Jeff Miller, Warden of the Lake County Jail, alleging that he was terminated in retaliation for raising questions and seeking an investigation into allegations that Paula Cooper, an inmate at the Lake County Jail, had sexual relations with employees of the Lake County Jail and South-lake. On September 7,1987, the deposition of Dopson was taken. During the deposition, Dopson refused to answer several questions regarding his conversations with Paula Cooper claiming a privilege as to the content and the nature of these conversations.

Discussion

Cunningham contends that Dopson is not a certified psychologist and is not authorized to practice medicine; that pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 501 and Indiana Code § 25-33-1-17, Dopson may not claim a privilege based on a psychotherapist-patient relationship; and that Dopson should be required to answer the deposition questions relating to Paula Cooper.

Southlake contends that Dopson was a counseller at Southlake; that he attended daily meetings with the psychiatrists and psychologists; that Cooper’s case was discussed at these meetings; that Dopson’s notes are integrated with notes made by the psychologists and psychiatrists; that it would be impossible to extricate Dopson’s notes; and that Cunningham is attempting to gain access to the records of Southlake in violation of Indiana Code § 16-14-1.6-1.

Federal Rule of Evidence 501 provides that:

Except as otherwise required by the Constitution of the United States or provided by Act of Congress or in rules prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority, the privilege of a witness, person, government, State, or political subdivision thereof shall be governed by the principles of the common law as they may be interpreted by the courts of the United States in the light of reason and experience. However, in civil actions and proceedings, with respect to an element of a claim or defense as to which State law supplies the rule of decision, the privilege of a witness, person, government, State, or political subdivision thereof shall be determined in accordance with State law.

Cunningham’s Section 1983 claims are based on federal question jurisdiction, and Rule 501 mandates that the federal common law of privilege govern these claims. Potts v. Allis Chalmers Corp., 118 F.R.D. 597, 602 (N.D.Ind.1987). In contrast, Cunningham’s pendent claims for wrongful dis[476]*476charge and intentional infliction of emotional distress are governed by Indiana law, and Rule 501 requires the application of the state law of privilege.

Federal Rule o,f Evidence 504 as originally proposed by the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Rules of Evidence and as approved by the United States Supreme Court specifically recognized a psychotherapist-patient privilege:

(a) Definitions.
(1) A “patient” is a person who consults or is examined or interviewed by a psychotherapist.
(2) A “psychotherapist” is (A) a person authorized to practice medicine in any state or nation, or reasonably believed by the patient so to be, while engaged in the diagnosis or treatment of a mental or emotional condition, including drug addiction, or (B) a person licensed or certified as a psychologist under the laws of any state or nation, while similarly engaged.
(3) A communication is “confidential” if not intended to be disclosed to third persons other than those present to further the interest of the patient in the consultation, examination, or interview, or persons reasonably necessary for the transmission of the communication, or persons who are participating in the diagnosis and treatment under the direction of the psychotherapist, including members of the patient’s family.
(b) General rule of privilege. A patient has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications, made for the purposes of diagnosis or treatment of his mental or emotional condition, including drug addiction, among himself, his psychotherapist, or persons who are participating in the diagnosis or treatment under the direction of the psychotherapist, including members of the patient’s family.
(c) Who may claim the privilege. The privilege may be claimed by the patient, by his guardian or conservator, or by the personal representative of a deceased patient. The person who was the psychotherapist may claim the privilege but only on behalf of the patient. His authority so to do is presumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
(d) Exceptions.
(1) Proceedings for hospitalization. There is no privilege under this rule for communications relevant to an issue in proceedings to hospitalize the patient for mental illness, if the psychotherapist in the course of diagnosis or treatment had determined that the patient is in need of hospitalization.
(2) Examination by order of judge. If the judge orders an examination of the mental or emotional condition of the patient, communications made in the course thereof are not privileged under this rule with respect to the particular purpose for which the examination is ordered unless the judge orders otherwise.
(3) Condition an element of claim or defense. There is no privilege under this rule as to communications relevant to an issue of the mental or emotional condition of the patient in any proceeding in which he relies upon the condition as an element of his claim or defense, or, after the patient’s death, in any proceeding in which any party relies upon the condition as an element of his claim or defense.

Although proposed Rule 504 was not adopted by Congress, this does not mean that Congress intended to foreclose any claims of a psychotherapist-patient privilege.

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Bluebook (online)
125 F.R.D. 474, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7103, 1989 WL 47091, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cunningham-v-southlake-center-for-mental-health-inc-innd-1989.