May v. Southeast Wyoming Mental Health Center
| Decision Date | 29 December 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-179,92-179 |
| Citation | 866 P.2d 732 |
| Parties | Marvin Lee MAY and Wilda Stevens, as Guardian of MKM, a minor, Appellants (Plaintiffs), v. SOUTHEAST WYOMING MENTAL HEALTH CENTER; Ardith "Dardee" Ervin; and Frank Andrews; State of Wyoming, Department of Public Assistance, n/k/a Department of Family Services; Carol Matz; and Jan Stiles, Appellees (Defendants). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Ronald E. Triggs, Cheyenne, for appellants.
Peter K. Michael of Boley & McKellar, P.C., Cheyenne, for appellee Frank Andrews.
Rebecca Lewis of Hirst & Applegate, Cheyenne, for appellee Southeast Wyoming Mental Health Center and Ardith "Dardee" Ervin.
Karen A. Byrne, Cheyenne, for appellees Wyoming Dept. of Family Services; Carol Matz; Jan Stiles.
Before THOMAS, CARDINE, GOLDEN, and TAYLOR, JJ., and BROWN, J. (Retired).
Appellants Marvin Lee May and the guardian of a minor filed this lawsuit against various state government agencies and certain individuals alleged to have been employed by these agencies. The essence of appellant May's complaint is that he was The district court disposed of the complaint by summary judgment or by dismissal for failure to state a cause of action.
damaged by the state agencies and individuals (appellees) because they were negligent in reporting child abuse and testifying in a criminal prosecution against him. The gist of the guardian's complaint is that the individuals and state agencies were negligent in investigating and reporting child abuse involving the guardian's ward.
Appellants state the issues to be:
1. Did the court err in the following orders and decisions:
A. Order Granting Defendant Frank Andrews' Motion for Summary Judgment dated 17 July 1992.
B. Order Granting Defendants Southeast Wyoming Mental Health Center's and Ardith "Dardee" Ervin's Motion for Summary Judgment dated 17 July 1992.
C. Order Dismissing Plaintiffs' Claims Against the State of Wyoming, Department of Public Assistance and Social Services (Now DFS), Carol Matz and Jan Stiles dated 24 March 1992.
D. Order on Motion of Defendant Frank Andrews to Dismiss Civil Rights Claims dated 4 March 1992.
E. Order on Plaintiffs' Motion for Protective Order to invade attorney/client privilege dated 28 May 1992.
2. Does bad faith remove the statutory governmental immunity of defendants Matz and Stiles?
3. Did the defendants owe a duty of care to the plaintiffs?
Appellants have not clearly identified the institutional or corporate parties that they intend to be included in this appeal. In the caption of appellants' brief and the issues specified, the State of Wyoming, Department of Public Assistance and Social Services (DPASS) and Southeast Wyoming Mental Health Center (Mental Health Center) are indicated as appellee parties. However, in their brief, appellants state, "The Plaintiffs appeal from the decision only insofar as it affects the individuals." We need not concern ourselves, however, about which parties, if any, appellants intended to drop from this appeal.
Reduced to its simplest terms, appellants complain that the motions for summary judgment and the motion to dismiss were decided adversely to them.
We affirm.
It appears that an understanding of this spectacle would be facilitated by identifying the principal players in the beginning.
CAST
MKM Issue of a dysfunctional marriage
Marvin Lee May Father of MKM
Dawn (May) Frantz Mother of MKM
Wilda Stevens Paternal Grandmother & Guardian of MKM
Doug Frantz Boyfriend/husband of Dawn May Frantz
Carol Matz Social case worker, Laramie County DPASS
Jan Stiles Supervisor of Carol Matz, Laramie County DPASS
Ardith "Dardee" Ervin Social Worker, Southeast Wyoming Mental Health Center
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In addition to the cast, there were numerous entities and individuals that played some part in the tragedy about to be revealed. 1 This list includes, but is not limited to, several Wyoming and Colorado courts, a mental health center, public assistance and social workers, lawyers, doctors and law enforcement personnel and facilities.
Appellant Marvin Lee May and Dawn May (now Dawn Frantz) were divorced in December 1984. Dawn May voluntarily gave up custody of the couple's daughter, MKM, age sixteen months. Dawn states that she agreed that Lee May have custody of the child because Lee threatened that if she opposed Post-divorce proceedings resulted in Dawn May re-establishing visitation with her daughter MKM. In July 1986, Marvin Lee May reported to Mary Richard of the Mental Health Center that his daughter, MKM, had returned home from a visit with her mother exhibiting a cigarette burn on her hand. Mary Richard reported the burn to appellee Carol Matz, a social worker for DPASS, who investigated the burn incident. The mother, Dawn, told Matz that it was an accidental cigarette burn. Matz closed the file on September 11, 1986, with respect to the burn incident, concluding that the report of abuse was unsubstantiated.
it, he would reveal to Dawn's mother that Dawn's stepfather had sexually abused Dawn during her childhood. This revelation would have had dire consequences, according to Dawn.
At Carol Matz's interview of Dawn May on September 10, 1986, the latter reported that she was concerned that MKM showed signs of discomfort in the genital area during her bath. This discomfort had been noticed by Dawn during earlier weekend visitations. Dawn reported that MKM denied being touched inappropriately by an adult.
On September 18, 1986, Dawn May telephoned Carol Matz again about MKM's discomfort. She reported that during her latest visit, MKM did not want to be touched in the genital area and was evasive about whether someone had been touching her. Ms. Matz suggested that Dawn May take her daughter for an interview with Ms. Ardith "Dardee" Ervin (formerly Toland), at the Mental Health Center.
On Friday, September 26, 1986, Dawn May took MKM to the Mental Health Center for an interview with Ervin. At this interview, MKM told Ervin that her father had sexually abused her. MKM's description of the sexual abuse was limited by the experience and vocabulary of a three-year-old girl, but sufficiently graphic to prompt Ervin to report the results of her interview to Carol Matz. At this juncture, MKM was placed in emergency shelter care with a foster mother.
On Monday, September 29, 1986, MKM was again interviewed by Ervin at the request of Carol Matz. Ervin reported to DPASS and the sheriff's office that she suspected abuse by Marvin Lee May; she continued to see MKM in therapy sessions and give opinions to the State regarding the condition of MKM. Ervin testified in the criminal trial against Marvin Lee May at the request of Colorado authorities. MKM was seen by Cheyenne physician Wendy Palmer for a physical examination. The examination did not reveal physical evidence of penetration, but MKM repeated her allegations in Dr. Palmer's presence through play with anatomical dolls. Dr. Palmer reported she believed that MKM had been sexually abused by her father. Carol Matz drafted an abuse/neglect investigative summary which detailed the course of investigation up to September 29, 1986.
On September 29, 1986, a shelter care hearing was held before the district judge. MKM's foster placement was continued. MKM remained in that placement for several more days, until the next hearing held on October 10, 1986. The foster parent reported in a letter to DPASS that MKM was very distraught at being separated from her mother, and was afraid of both her father, Lee May, and her grandmother, Wilda Stevens.
On September 30, 1986, Marvin Lee May had his first supervised visit with his daughter at DPASS offices. Carol Matz intended to allow Mr. May to visit his daughter alone; however, MKM refused to go into the visiting room alone with her father. To accommodate Marvin Lee May's objection to Carol Matz being present during the visit, Dr. Frank Andrews, a Fort Collins psychologist, consented to be a neutral observer during the visit. Dr. Andrews was rewarded for his accommodation by being sued.
At the October 10, 1986 hearing, Dawn May was awarded temporary custody of MKM, and Dr. Andrews was appointed an evaluator by the court.
In the next few weeks after the October 10 hearing several of the players in this saga were administered most of the psychological In his capacity as court appointed evaluator, Dr. Andrews first interviewed Marvin Lee May and explained to him the purpose of the evaluation and answered questions. He also attended supervised visitation between Marvin Lee May and his daughter and administered some of the tests mentioned. In an interview MKM stated to Dr. Andrews, "Daddy had hurt her personal," and "Daddy was mean."
and social tests known to man. 2 In mid-October of 1986, the Laramie County Sheriff's Department communicated with Police Detective Richard Martin of Thornton, Colorado, regarding the sexual abuse allegations against Marvin Lee May. Detective Martin commenced an investigation which resulted in an Information being filed against Marvin Lee May in Adams County. The charge was aggravated incest and sexual assault on a child. 3
Dr. Andrews completed his evaluation in January 1987, and submitted his report to Carol Matz. He was never called to testify in the Laramie County, Wyoming, abuse/neglect case. Dr. Andrews never said at any time that he thought Marvin Lee May was guilty. Rather, in his report, he gave an opinion that Dawn May was the preferred custodial parent, and that MKM's outcry statements were inconsistent with coaching by Dawn May.
After submitting his report on January 20, 1987, Dr. Andrews had no involvement of any significance in the matter until April of 1988, when Marvin Lee May's criminal trial occurred in Adams County, Colorado. At this time, Dr. Andrews was subpoenaed as a witness for the...
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