Meade v. Mercy Health-Regional Med. Ctr., LLC
| Decision Date | 11 February 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 18CA011307,18CA011307 |
| Citation | 130 N.E.3d 1058,2019 Ohio 438 |
| Parties | Duane MEADE, Administrator of the Estate of Mattie E. Meade, Appellee v. MERCY HEALTH-REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, LLC, et al., Appellants |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
RYAN K. RUBIN and LEAH Z. DUGAN, Cleveland, Attorneys at Law, for Appellants.
CHRISTOPHER M. MELLINO, MEGHAN C. LEWALLEN, Cleveland, and CALDER MELLINO, Attorneys at Law, for Appellee.
PAUL W. FLOWERS, Cleveland, Attorney at Law, for Appellee.
LOUIS E. GRUBE, Cleveland, Attorney at Law, for Appellee.
DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY
{¶1} Appellants, Mercy Health-Regional Medical Center, LLC, dba Mercy Regional Medical Center, Mercy Health, and Mercy Health Lorain, LLC (collectively "Mercy"), appeal the March 28, 2018 judgment of the Lorain County Common Pleas Court which granted the motion to compel filed by Appellee, Duane Meade, administrator of the estate of Mattie Meade ("Mr. Meade"), and ordered Mercy to respond to Mr. Meade's first set of interrogatories and second set of requests for production of documents. For the reasons set forth below, this Court reverses.
{¶2} In September 2015, Mr. Meade filed a complaint alleging medical malpractice, wrongful death, and loss of consortium claims against Mercy and multiple other medical facilities and doctors who are not parties to this appeal. A year later, Mr. Meade filed a second complaint against Mercy alleging claims of negligent credentialing, wrongful death, and loss of consortium arising from the same facts in the first complaint. The second complaint specifically identified Dr. Alexander Zolli, a defendant in the first complaint, as the medical provider at issue in the negligent credentialing claim.
{¶3} Upon Mr. Meade's motion, the two cases were consolidated. A few months later, the trial court granted motions by Mercy and Dr. Zolli to bifurcate the negligent credentialing claim from the other claims for purposes of trial, but denied their request to stay discovery as to the negligent credentialing claim.
{¶4} After the issuance of this order, the parties proceeded with discovery as to all of the claims. Multiple discovery disputes arose. Among them was a request for an in camera inspection of Dr. Zolli's credentialing file wherein the trial court ruled portions of the file were protected by the peer review privilege. As to Mr. Meade's most recent motion to compel, the trial court found that the peer review privilege did not apply to the second round of discovery requests and ordered Mercy to respond to the interrogatories and request for production of documents. Mercy filed a motion for reconsideration of this discovery order, which was denied.
{¶5} Mercy timely appeals, asserting one assignment of error.
{¶6} Mercy argues that the trial court incorrectly ordered the disclosure of information from and about Dr. Zolli's credentialing file that had been previously deemed protected by the peer review privilege. This Court agrees.
{¶7} At oral argument, Mercy clarified that it is not challenging the trial court's ruling as to the second set of requests for production of documents. We will limit our review accordingly.
{¶8} The parties disagree as to what the applicable standard of review is in this case. Mercy argues this Court's standard of review is de novo, while Mr. Meade argues it is an abuse of discretion. Generally, the abuse-of-discretion standard is applicable when reviewing discovery orders. Ward v. Summa Health Sys. , 184 Ohio App.3d 254, 2009-Ohio-4859, 920 N.E.2d 421, ¶ 11 (9th Dist.), citing Med. Mut. of Ohio v. Schlotterer , 122 Ohio St.3d 181, 2009-Ohio-2496, 909 N.E.2d 1237, ¶ 13. However, this Court has recognized that "the Supreme Court of Ohio has concluded that the issue of whether the information sought is confidential and privileged from disclosure is a question of law that should be reviewed de novo." Ward at ¶ 11, citing Schlotterer at ¶ 13. In this matter, we will review the trial court's decision de novo because the appeal questions the trial court's interpretation and application of R.C. 2305.252. See Giusti v. Akron Gen. Med. Ctr. , 178 Ohio App.3d 53, 2008-Ohio-4333, 896 N.E.2d 769, ¶ 12 (9th Dist.).
{¶9} The "peer review privilege" originates in R.C. 2305.252 and states in pertinent part:
Proceedings and records within the scope of a peer review committee of a health care entity shall be held in confidence and shall not be subject to discovery or introduction in evidence in any civil action against a health care entity or health care provider, including both individuals who provide health care and entities that provide health care, arising out of matters that are the subject of evaluation and review by the peer review committee.
R.C. 2305.252(A). The statute also sets forth the original source provision:
Information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources are not to be construed as being unavailable for discovery or for use in any civil action merely because they were produced or presented during proceedings of a peer review committee, but the information, documents, or records are available only from the original sources and cannot be obtained from the peer review committee's proceedings or records.
Id. The peer review statute also excludes certain testimony from those involved with the peer review process:
No individual who attends a meeting of a peer review committee, serves as a member of a peer review committee, works for or on behalf of a peer review committee, or provides information to a peer review committee shall be permitted or required to testify in any civil action as to any evidence or other matters produced or presented during the proceedings of the peer review committee or as to any finding, recommendation, evaluation, opinion, or other action of the committee or a member thereof.
Id. While these individuals "cannot be asked about [their] testimony before the peer review committee, information [they] provided to the peer review committee, or any opinion [they] formed as a result of the peer review committee's activities[,]" they are permitted to "testify[ ] as to matters within [their] knowledge[.]" Id.
{¶10} R.C. 2305.252(A) "set[s] forth the confidentiality of records and proceedings in the peer review process" and "provides an umbrella of protection to information which is collected and maintained by a peer review committee during a peer review process." Lowrey v. Fairfield Med. Ctr. , 5th Dist. Fairfield No. 08 CA 85, 2009-Ohio-4470, 2009 WL 2718590, ¶ 28. This Court has recognized that while "[t]he purpose of the statute is to protect the integrity of the peer[ ]review process in order to improve the quality of health care[,] * * * [t]he peer[ ]review privilege is not a generalized cloak of secrecy over the entire peer[ ]review process." Giusti at ¶ 14.
{¶11} The party asserting the peer review privilege carries the burden of establishing that the privilege is applicable to the information being sought. Giusti at ¶ 17. This burden may be satisfied by "(1) submitting the documents in question to the trial court for an in camera inspection, or (2) presenting affidavit or deposition testimony containing the information necessary for the trial court to adjudge whether the privilege attaches." Bansal v. Mt. Carmel Health Sys., Inc. , 10th Dist. Franklin No. 09AP-351, 2009-Ohio-6845, 2009 WL 5062122, ¶ 14. This Court has stated that this privilege is proven by establishing that " ‘a peer[ ]review committee existed and that it actually investigated the incident.’ " Ward , 184 Ohio App.3d 254, 2009-Ohio-4859, 920 N.E.2d 421, at ¶ 17, quoting Giusti at ¶ 17. Additionally, the party seeking the privilege is required to show that each of the documents over which it asserts the privilege is a " ‘record[ ] within the scope of a peer review committee.’ " (Alterations sic.) Bansal at ¶ 15, quoting R.C. 2305.252(A). When a party fails to present this evidence, it fails to carry its burden and the peer review privilege does not apply. See Ward at ¶ 17 ; Giusti at ¶ 27-28.
{¶12} Mr. Meade argues that Mercy failed to establish its burden that the peer review privilege applied to the first set of interrogatories. Additionally, Mr. Meade asserts that the trial court's prior in camera review and protective order ruling of Dr. Zolli's credentialing file have "nothing to do with the instant discovery dispute on appeal." (Emphasis deleted.) Mercy concedes that it did not submit an affidavit or deposition testimony in support of this burden. Nor did Mercy present documents for an in camera inspection in response to this motion to compel. Instead, Mercy argues that it had previously submitted the credentialing file for an in camera review relative to the motion for protective order and the trial court deemed parts of the credentialing file to be protected by the peer review privilege.1 Thus, Mercy contends it was unnecessary to present such evidence to reestablish its burden a second time because the trial court, six months earlier, had ordered that these same documents were not to be produced in discovery because of the peer review privilege. This Court agrees.
{¶13} Six months before Mr. Meade propounded the first set of interrogatories to Mercy, Dr. Zolli filed a motion for protective order, a request for in camera inspection, and a privilege log regarding his credentialing file at Mercy. Dr. Zolli asserted multiple bases for the nondisclosure of his credentialing file, including the peer review privilege. Mercy joined Dr. Zolli's motion for protective order and request for in camera inspection. The trial court conducted the in camera inspection of the credentialing file and ordered that portions of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
- Adams v. Romine
-
Stull v. Summa Health Sys.
...the information necessary for the trial court to adjudge whether the privilege attaches.’ " Meade v. Mercy Health-Regional Med. Ctr., LLC , 9th Dist., 2019-Ohio-438, 130 N.E.3d 1058, ¶ 11, quoting Bansal at ¶ 14. "The health care entity must provide evidence as to the specific documents req......