Doe v. Garcia

961 P.2d 1181, 131 Idaho 578, 14 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1435, 1998 Ida. LEXIS 39
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 20, 1998
Docket23608
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 961 P.2d 1181 (Doe v. Garcia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. Garcia, 961 P.2d 1181, 131 Idaho 578, 14 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1435, 1998 Ida. LEXIS 39 (Idaho 1998).

Opinions

JOHNSON, Justice.

This is a negligent hiring and supervision ease. We conclude that there are genuine issues of material fact that preclude summary judgment.

I.

THE BACKGROUND AND PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

Fred Garcia (Garcia) became employed by Sisters of the Holy Cross dba St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center (the hospital) as a respiratory therapist in September 1987. During the hiring process, the hospital reviewed an application completed by Garcia, contacted one of Garcia’s past employers, and conducted a half hour personal interview. This process revealed nothing out of the ordinary and Garcia was hired. Shortly after Garcia began his employment at the hospital, he was reprimanded for encouraging underage employees to consume alcohol. Also in the fall of 1987, Garcia sought the services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for what he termed “being quite preoccupied with sex.” The staff of EAP was directly employed by the hospital. During one of the counseling sessions Garcia had with EAP, he admitted to a counselor (the EAP counselor) that he had been terminated from St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center (St.Mary’s) in Reno, Nevada, for sexually molesting a patient in December 1985. Neither the EAP counselor nor her supervisor, whom she told of Garcia’s admission, advised any other employees of the hospital about Garcia’s prior sexual conduct with a patient.

John Doe (Doe), a minor, was a patient in the hospital for a period of six weeks beginning on August 1,1988. During his hospitalization, Doe received respiratory therapy from Garcia and formed a personal relationship. Following Doe’s release from the hospital, Garcia continued to develop his relationship with Doe. Garcia was discharged by the hospital in June 1989 for encouraging underage employees to consume alcohol after being warned not to do so. During the summer of 1989 after Garcia left the hospital, Garcia began sexually molesting Doe.

Doe filed suit against Garcia, Garcia’s wife, and the hospital. The hospital requested that the trial court grant summary judgment dismissing Doe’s negligence action. For purposes of this request, the hospital asked the trial court to assume that it was negligent in hiring and supervising Garcia. At the same time, Doe requested further discovery concerning the issues of duty, foreseeability, and breach. The trial court denied the discovery request and granted summary judgment. Doe appealed both rulings, and this Court assigned the ease to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court should not have denied the motion requesting further discovery, which necessarily required the vacating of the grant of summary judgment. Doe v. Sisters of the Holy Cross, 126 Idaho 1036, 1044, 895 P.2d 1229, 1237 (Ct.App.1995) (Doe I). The Court of Appeals remanded the case to the trial court to permit further discovery “regarding the hospital’s knowledge of Garcia’s psychiatric history and sexual proclivities----” Id.

Following the completion of all discovery in the case, the hospital again requested summary judgment. This time the hospital did not ask the trial court to assume it was negligent in hiring and supervising Garcia. The trial court again granted summary judgment. Doe appealed.

[580]*580II.

THERE IS A GENUINE ISSUE OF MATERIAL FACT CONCERNING THE HOSPITAL’S NEGLIGENCE IN HIRING GARCIA.

Doe asserts that the trial court should not have granted summary judgment dismissing his negligent hiring claim. We agree.

Before hiring Garcia, the hospital did not inquire about the circumstances of Garcia’s termination at St. Mary’s, the last place at which Garcia was employed as a respiratory therapist. The evidence presented in connection with the hospital’s request for summary judgment indicates that the policy St. Mary’s followed when it received an inquiry concerning a former employee was to release only dates of employment and positions held. St. Mary’s would, however, release an employee’s personnel file to the employee upon written request. Garcia’s personnel file from St. Mary’s contains an indication that the reason for his dismissal was sexual molestation of a patient. For purposes of summary judgment, the reasonable inferences that we must draw in favor of Doe as the nonmoving party are that if the hospital had requested that Garcia obtain his employment file from St. Mary’s, Garcia would have done so and would have provided the file to the hospital for its review. This creates a genuine issue of material fact whether the hospital was negligent in hiring Doe.

III.

THE EAP COUNSELOR HAD A DUTY TO INFORM OTHERS AT THE HOSPITAL OF GARICIA’S SEXUAL PROPENSITIES.

Doe asserts that the EAP counselor had a duty to inform others at the hospital of Garcia’s sexual propensities. We agree.

EAP is a mental health assistance and referral service available to all employees of the hospital. The materials the hospital distributed to its employees concerning EAP indicate the confidential and private nature of EAP services. EAP counselors are employees of the hospital. When Garcia discussed his sexual problem with the EAP counselor in the fall of 1987, he talked in terms of being “preoccupied with sex” and stated that “any partner will do.”

Although the EAP was designed around confidentiality, the evidence presented in connection with the hospital’s request for summary judgment indicates that the EAP counselor would reveal information gained from an employee if “someone was in danger.” The EAP counselor was concerned for the welfare of patients in the hospital after learning of Garcia’s sexual problems. At the time Garcia revealed his sexual propensities to the EAP counselor, no statute or common law precedent in this state made the communication privileged. Therefore, the EAP counselor had a duty to disclose the information to others at the hospital. As the employer of the EAP counselor, the hospital is responsible for the failure of the EAP counselor to do so.

IV.

THERE IS A GENUINE ISSUE OF MATERIAL FACT CONCERNING THE HOSPITAL’S NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION OF GARCIA.

Doe asserts that the trial court should not have granted summary judgment dismissing his claim for negligent supervision. We agree.

Because of the knowledge the hospital had through the EAP counselor of Garcia’s sexual propensities, there is a genuine issue of material fact whether the hospital could have prevented the injuries to Doe by taking action to supervise Garcia in a manner that would have prevented Garcia from establishing a relationship with Doe during Doe’s hospitalization.

V.

THERE ARE GENUINE ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT CONCERNING THE LIABILITY OF THE HOSPITAL FOR DOE’S INJURIES.

Doe asserts that the trial court should not have dismissed his claim that the hospital [581]*581breached its duty toward him and that the breach was a proximate cause of his injuries. We agree.

This Court follows the rule that “ ‘one owes the duty to every person in our society to use reasonable care to avoid injury to the other person in any situation in which it could be reasonably anticipated or foreseen that a failure to use such care might result in such injury.’ ” Alegria v. Payonk, 101 Idaho 617, 619, 619 P.2d 135

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Schriver v. Raptosh
557 P.3d 398 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2024)
Stanton v. Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC
83 F. Supp. 3d 937 (D. Idaho, 2015)
People v. Daly
313 P.3d 571 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2011)
Newberry v. Martens
127 P.3d 187 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2005)
Hunter v. State, Dept. of Corrections
57 P.3d 755 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2002)
Rausch v. Pocatello Lumber Company, Inc.
14 P.3d 1074 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2000)
Coghlan v. Beta Theta Pi Fraternity
987 P.2d 300 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1999)
Caldwell v. Idaho Youth Ranch, Inc.
968 P.2d 215 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1998)
Doe v. Garcia
961 P.2d 1181 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
961 P.2d 1181, 131 Idaho 578, 14 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1435, 1998 Ida. LEXIS 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-garcia-idaho-1998.