Sanders v. Stanley

794 F. Supp. 2d 755, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51352, 2011 WL 1883038
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedMay 13, 2011
DocketCase 09-14377
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 794 F. Supp. 2d 755 (Sanders v. Stanley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sanders v. Stanley, 794 F. Supp. 2d 755, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51352, 2011 WL 1883038 (E.D. Mich. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT BY DEFENDANTS STANLEY AND JOSLIN-PAGE

DAVID M. LAWSON, District Judge.

The plaintiffs in this case brought suit against defendants Adrienne Stanley and Judith Joslin-Page, both physicians at Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills, Michigan for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and false imprisonment, alleging that the doctors falsely reported to the police that plaintiff Elizabeth Sanders had given birth and that she and co-plaintiff Jude Beekowitz had disposed of the fetus illegally. Other defendants are named in the action as well. Before the Court presently is a motion for summary judgment by defendants Stanley and Joslin-Page. They argue, among other things, that they are protected by common law immunity and the immunity provision in the Child Protection Act against civil liability for reporting the plaintiffs to the police. They also argue that the plaintiffs have not offered evidence to support the claim that Ms. Sanders was falsely imprisoned. After hearing argument from the parties in open court on April 26, 2011, the Court agrees. Therefore, the Court will grant the motion for summary judgment and dismiss the case against these two defendants.

I.

According to plaintiffs’ counsel, Elizabeth Sanders and Jude Beekowitz have led an alternative lifestyle and have lived “off the grid” for several years. In late June 2008, plaintiff Elizabeth Sanders suffered a miscarriage. She says that she did not *757 know she was pregnant and passed a bloody mass one day in the bathroom. She did not seek immediate medical attention, but she continued to bleed. Mr. Beckowitz eventually convinced her to go to a hospital, and on July 1, 2008, he took Sanders to the emergency room at Bots-ford Hospital in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Sanders told emergency room personnel of her vaginal bleeding over the past 24 hours. Doctors examined her and concluded eventually that Sanders’s pregnancy had been over 28 weeks in development, that she possibly had given birth to a viable fetus, and that a live baby may be at risk somewhere needing help. The doctors notified the police. Soon thereafter, the media reported that Sanders and her partner, plaintiff Jude Beckowitz, had given birth and disposed of the baby in a dumpster. The plaintiffs were excoriated in the press, Beckowitz was arrested without a warrant, Sanders was kept in the hospital incognito, and when they both returned home their house was vandalized.

Plaintiffs’ counsel acknowledges that the hospital physicians performed valuable service in their medical treatment of Elizabeth Sanders. The plaintiffs also contend that the doctors’ speculation about the term of Sanders’s pregnancy is not based on a proper level of competence, and their suggestion that she gave birth to a live baby, later disposed of, was exceedingly damaging to her and her partner. As plaintiffs’ counsel contended at oral argument, the doctors saved her life and ruined her reputation.

The record facts in this case tend to support those claims, although there is some dispute over details. When Sanders arrived in the emergency room, she was bleeding internally and exhibited symptoms of shock, including low blood pressure and tachycardia. Emergency room doctor Diane Paratore examined Sanders and indicated that her cervix, ovaries, and uterus appeared to be of “normal size.” Br. in Resp. to Botsford Mot. Summ. J. at 2 & Ex. 3, Dr. Paratore’s Report. Dr. J.P. Maganito, an obstetrical resident, noted some dilation in the cervix and concluded that the Sanders’ uterus was “approximately 8-10 weeks in size,” a guideline reference based on the size of the uterus during this period of a normal pregnancy. Id. at 2 & Ex. 4, Dr. Maganito’s Initial Exam Notes; Ex. 5, Discharge Summary; Botsford Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 1, Dep. of Stanley, at 74. Efforts in the emergency room to alleviate Sanders’ shock-related symptoms yielded little success.

The resident contacted Dr. Stanley around 4:00 a.m. Stanley was at the hospital when called, and she arrived at the emergency room promptly. She attempted to take a history from Sanders, but Sanders’ responses to Stanley’s questions were vague or non-existent. Stanley said that Sanders did tell her that she had a menstrual cycle approximately 30 days earlier, had been bleeding for over a day, and had passed some internal matter at home within the past 24 hours. At the time, Dr. Stanley suggested that the continued bleeding could have been caused by the uterus’s inability to contract normally after Sanders’ incomplete miscarriage. The plaintiffs expert, Dr. Jeffrey Wener, concluded that Sander’s uterus’s inability to contract normally would have prevented it from shrinking substantially after her miscarriage, and therefore Stanley’s opinion on the gestational term, which she reached by extrapolating from the size of the uterus she saw, was erroneous.

Dr. Stanley performed a “dilation and curettage” (D & C) that morning at 5:00 a.m. After placing the plaintiff under anesthesia, Stanley examined the plaintiff and found that her cervix was dilated and positioned at the vaginal opening in a manner *758 atypical of an early miscarriage, her peritoneum was bulging also in a manner atypical of an early miscarriage, her uterus was enlarged to the size of a uterus equivalent to a 14-to-16 week pregnancy, and the tissue in her uterus appeared placental in nature. Medical records indicate that at some point after completing the procedure and exams, Sanders’ uterus had shrunk to a size equal to an 8-to-10 week pregnancy. Stanley testified at her deposition that a uterus typically shrinks to about 50% of its size immediately after birthing the fetus, and a 14-to-16-week uterus size at the time of the D & C was indicative of a pregnancy of approximately 28 to 32 weeks. She also testified that the age of viability generally is considered to be 24 weeks. The information she obtained during her exam and the subsequent procedure caused Stanley to suspect that Sanders had delivered a potentially viable fetus at home and had inaccurately recounted her most recent menstrual cycle. At approximately 6:00 a.m., Stanley attempted to update Beckowitz in person in the waiting room, but found that he had left; she called and left a message on his cell phone when he did not answer.

After completing the surgery around 7:00 a.m., Stanley called the doctor replacing her, defendant Dr. Judith Joslin-Page, and explained her concerns. After JoslinPage examined Sanders in the recovery area at 7:30 a.m., she made the same findings as Stanley, and both doctors expressed concerns about inconsistencies with the plaintiffs reported history and the potential birth of a viable fetus. Joslin-Page contacted Beckowitz by phone after her examination and was able to reach him; she explained that Sanders was in critical condition and attempted to obtain more information about her medical history. The plaintiffs contend that neither Stanley’s statements nor Sanders’ medical records indicate that the pregnancy went longer than 16 weeks or reached the point of viability.

At 7:40 a.m., following her examination of and discussion with Stanley, JoslinPage made the decision to contact the police. However, she first consulted with a doctor in the emergency room and confirmed the proper protocol for doing so.

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794 F. Supp. 2d 755, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51352, 2011 WL 1883038, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sanders-v-stanley-mied-2011.