Quest Diagnostics Inc. v. Swaters

94 So. 3d 635, 2012 WL 2913275, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 11702
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJuly 18, 2012
DocketNo. 4D12-1183
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 94 So. 3d 635 (Quest Diagnostics Inc. v. Swaters) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Quest Diagnostics Inc. v. Swaters, 94 So. 3d 635, 2012 WL 2913275, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 11702 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Petitioners, Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (QDI) and Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Inc. (QDCL), seek certiorari or prohibition relief following a trial court order granting respondent Jeffrey R. Swa-ters’s (Swaters) motion to compel production of his urine specimen. For the reasons below, we grant the petition as one seeking a writ of certiorari, quash the order and return the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

Swaters was employed as a commercial airline pilot with Spirit Airlines. In 2007, he was selected by his employer to submit to random drug and alcohol testing. He [637]*637was directed to appear at Occupational Health Care of Florida, Inc., d/b/a Concen-tra Medical Centers (Concentra) for urine testing. The urine specimen was sent to QDI. In February, 2007, an employee of QDI took the specimen to Atlanta, Georgia for analysis. It tested positive for controlled substances. Swaters denied using drugs and requested a “split sample” of his urine specimen to be submitted for testing at another facility. It was sent by Quest to Diagnostic Services, Inc. (DSI). DSI reported the same results as Quest had.

After administrative hearings, an administrative law judge made findings which led to the revocation of Swaters’ pilot license. He appealed, but the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) affirmed. He appealed its decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the Board’s decision. Swaters v. Osmus, 568 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir.2009).

Swaters filed a Florida state law negligence lawsuit against Concentra in February 2010, alleging that Concentra was negligent in the manner it collected the urine specimen. Neither QDI nor QDCL is a party in that lawsuit. QDI is a foreign corporation incorporated in Delaware with its principal place of business in Madison, New Jersey. QDCL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of QDI, is a foreign corporation incorporated in Delaware with its principal place of business in New Jersey as well.

According to petitioners, QDCL’s Georgia laboratory tested Bottle A of Swaters’s urine specimen and it possesses the remaining portion of that specimen. Swa-ters seeks this bottle for DNA testing. He served a subpoena on QDI seeking the urine specimen, by serving its resident agent in Tallahassee. He also served a subpoena on QDCL by serving its registered agent.

QDI responded by a letter from counsel stating that Swaters had served the wrong entity and that QDI did not possess the specimen. Also, QDI advised that its subsidiary QDCL could not release the specimen it had without written consent from the Department of Transportation (DOT). Petitioners allege that QDI contacted the DOT about Swaters’ request and the DOT responded that it would not consent to release of the specimen. As well, QDI said in its letter that the Florida subpoena was not properly served on it. In order to obtain subpoena power over QDCL, Swa-ters would need to domesticate his Florida subpoena in a Georgia court and then serve that subpoena on QDCL at its Georgia location.

Swaters moved to compel production from the two non-parties. QDI and QDCL filed a response in court, this time arguing that Swaters had not obtained jurisdiction over either corporation because neither was subject to Florida subpoena power or the Florida long-arm statute. They also argued that Swaters’ request violated and was preempted by federal law, particularly the Federal Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act (FOTETA) and DOT regulations. Finally, they argued that QDI, parent company of QDCL, did not even have possession or control of the urine specimen. The trial court heard argument on the motion to compel and granted it in the order now on review.

Certiorari1 ordinarily is the extraordinary writ available to challenge an order compelling discovery if the petitioners can demonstrate a departure from the essential requirements of law resulting in material harm of an irreparable nature. See generally Bared & Co. v. McGuire, 670 So.2d 153 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); see also [638]*638McEnany v. Ryan, 44 So.3d 245 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). The order on review compels production by non-parties in this cause, such that ■ there is no adequate remedy available to them by appeal. This leaves the question of whether the trial court order constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law resulting in material harm. We find that it does for the reasons below.

The order compels the production of a urine specimen which is protected from production absent DOT authorization under several sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. 49 CFR § 40.13(c) provides:

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, you must not perform any tests on DOT urine or breath specimens other than those specifically authorized by this part or DOT agency regulations. For example, you may not test a DOT urine specimen for additional drugs, and a laboratory is prohibited from making a DOT urine specimen available for a DNA test or other types of specimen identity testing.

Paragraph (d), cited as the exception above, provides:

(d) The single exception to paragraph (c) of this section is when a DOT drug test collection is conducted as part of a physical examination required by DOT agency regulations. It is permissible to conduct required medical tests related to this physical examination (e.g., for glucosé) on any urine remaining in the colléction container after the drug test urine specimens have been sealed into the specimen bottles.
49 CFR § 40.331(f) provides:
§ 40.331 To what additional parties must employers and service agents release information?
As an employer or service agent you must release information under the following circumstances:
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(f) Except as otherwise provided in this part, as a laboratory you must’ not release or provide a specimen or a part of a specimen to a requesting party, without first obtaining written consent from ODAPC. If a party seeks a court order directing you to release a specimen or part of a specimen contrary to any provision of this part, you must take necessary legal steps to contest the issuance of the order (e.g., seek to quash a subpoena, citing the requirements of § 40.13). This part does not require you to disobey a court order, however.

ODAPC is the DOT’S Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy & Compliance.

As well, 49 CFR § 40.81(c) and (d) provide:

§ 40.81 What laboratories may be used for DOT drug testing?
[[Image here]]
(c) As a laboratory participating in the DOT drug testing program, you must comply with the requirements of this part. You must also comply with all applicable requirements of HHS in testing DOT specimens, whether or not the HHS requirements are explicitly stated in this part.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
94 So. 3d 635, 2012 WL 2913275, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 11702, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/quest-diagnostics-inc-v-swaters-fladistctapp-2012.