Zeranti v. United States

358 F. Supp. 3d 244
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 11, 2019
Docket1:15-CV-00488 EAW
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 358 F. Supp. 3d 244 (Zeranti v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zeranti v. United States, 358 F. Supp. 3d 244 (W.D.N.Y. 2019).

Opinion

ELIZABETH A. WOLFORD, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Kenneth Zeranti ("Plaintiff") brings this action pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b) and 2671 et seq. , against defendants United States of America ("Defendant") and Erica L. Sargent, Ph.D. ("Dr. Sargent"), alleging negligence resulting in "permanent or long-standing emotional harm." (Dkt. 1). Specifically, Plaintiff claims that Dr. Sargent, Plaintiff's psychotherapist at the Veterans Administration ("VA") Hospital in Buffalo, New York ("Buffalo VAMC"), mismanaged Plaintiff's emotional dependence on her, engaged in a sexual, intimate relationship with Plaintiff, and then terminated the relationship "in an abrupt manner," causing Plaintiff to suffer "severe and debilitating depression." (Id. at ¶¶ 7-12). Plaintiff asserts two causes of action against Defendant: (1) a claim for vicarious liability based on Dr. Sargent's negligence, and (2) a claim for negligent supervision and/or retention. (Id. at 3-5).

Presently before the Court is the motion to dismiss brought by Defendant pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 56. (Dkt. 37). Defendant seeks dismissal of the claims asserted by Plaintiff for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. (Id. at 1; Dkt. 39 at 10, 16). Defendant also seeks summary judgment as to Plaintiff's second cause of action alleging negligent supervision. (Dkt. 37 at 1; Dkt. 39 at 19). For the following reasons, Defendant's motion is denied.

BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background

The following facts are drawn from Defendant's Rule 56 Statement of Undisputed Facts (Dkt. 40) ("Defendant's Statement"), Plaintiff's Response to Defendant's Statement of Undisputed Facts (Dkt. 42-3) ("Plaintiff's Statement"), and their supporting documents. The Court has noted where factual disputes exist and views all such disputes in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, as required on a motion such as this.

Plaintiff is a veteran who receives disability benefits through the Social Security Administration and the VA as a result of his diagnosis with major depression, dysthymia, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. (Dkt. 40 at ¶¶ 3-9). Plaintiff has received continuous mental health treatment from the Buffalo VAMC since the late 1980s. (Id. at ¶ 16). From 1987 until August 2011, Plaintiff's therapist at the Buffalo VAMC was a clinical psychologist named Eddie Venzor, Ph.D. (Id. at ¶ 19). After Dr. Venzor's retirement, Plaintiff was transferred to Dr. Sargent, another psychologist at the Buffalo VAMC, for his mental health care. (Id. at ¶¶ 20, 26). For several months, Plaintiff was treated by a psychology intern Dr. Sargent supervised (id. at ¶¶ 21-23), and Dr. Sargent began personally *249counseling Plaintiff in December 2011 (id. at ¶ 45).

Psychologists at the Buffalo VAMC "function as independent practitioners" (id. at ¶ 27), and the VA does not require clinical supervision of its psychologists (id. at ¶ 31). However, psychologists employed at the Buffalo VAMC are supposed to complete an Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation ("OPPE") every six months where a psychologist's chart timeliness, continuing education documentation, and case presentation are evaluated by the lead psychologist. (Id. at ¶ 34; Dkt. 42-3 at 34). Additionally, Dr. Sargent's administrative supervisor, Thomas Brent ("Brent"), had staff meetings with psychologists every other week to discuss their cases and would sometimes talk to Dr. Sargent one-on-one about treatment methods for cases with which she struggled. (Dkt. 40 at ¶¶ 42-43).

The Veteran's Health Administration Handbook requires patient health records to "be timely, relevant, necessary, complete, and authenticated." (Dkt. 42-2 at 27). Each VA facility is required to establish policies that "specify time standards for content, authentication, and completion" of patient records and "describe procedures for ongoing monitoring and reporting of individual delinquent records, responsible clinicians, and re-occurring delinquency patterns." (Id. ). At the Buffalo VAMC, therapists were required to enter notes within five days of the sessions. (Dkt. 42-1 at ¶ 28).

Throughout 2012 and 2013, Dr. Sargent failed to complete the notes taken during her counseling sessions with many of her patients, including those with Plaintiff. (Dkt. 40 at ¶¶ 123-25). Dr. Sargent received a disciplinary warning on April 19, 2012, for failing to enter her notes in a timely manner, and Brent was supposed to monitor her note entry. (Dkt. 42-1 at ¶ 29). In November 2012, Dr. Sargent still had few substantive notes. (Id. at ¶ 26). No notes of any kind exist for Plaintiff's final 15 therapy sessions with Dr. Sargent. (Id. ). The record does not show that Brent discussed this deficiency with Dr. Sargent. (See id. at ¶ 30).

On or before January 2013, Plaintiff began expressing affection to Dr. Sargent in their therapy sessions. (Id. at ¶ 46; Dkt. 42-3 at ¶ 46). A patient becoming infatuated with a therapist is a common occurrence in therapeutic settings and is referred to as the transference phenomenon. (Dkt. 40 at ¶¶ 48-50). Patients experiencing transference have feelings towards their therapist that are not necessarily based in reality, but occur because the therapist may be one of the few people who sits and listens to the patient and "who cares in an organized and thoughtful and attentive way." (Id. ). Dr. Sargent had successfully handled transference situations twice previously in her career (id. at ¶ 64), and prior to 2013, she had never engaged in a sexual or romantic relationship with a patient (id. at ¶ 65).

Between January and March 2013, Plaintiff started expressing his affection for Dr. Sargent more vehemently by writing her letters and cards and by leaving her voicemails until her inbox was full. (Dkt. 42-2 at 152). Plaintiff gave several gifts to Dr. Sargent, including crystal sculptures (id. at 157) and a three-and-a-half-foot tall flower arrangement that Dr. Sargent placed in the reception area (id. at 218). The hospital staff noticed that Plaintiff brought these gifts to Dr. Sargent (id. at 223), and on at least one occasion, a hospital staff member admonished Plaintiff for doing so (id. at 165). Additionally, Plaintiff referred to Dr. Sargent as "hot Dr. Sargent" in front of Buffalo VAMC staff members throughout this time. (Id. at 223).

*250In March or April 2013, Dr. Sargent claims she met with Brent to ask for guidance about how to handle Plaintiff's affection.1 (Dkt. 40 at ¶ 55). She also met twice with one of her peers, Dr. Elizabeth Wahlig ("Dr.

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358 F. Supp. 3d 244, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zeranti-v-united-states-nywd-2019.