Peerman v. Sidicane

• Decision Date: 29 February 1980
• Citation: Peerman v. Sidicane, 605 S.W.2d 242 (Tenn. App. 1980)
• Parties: C. Gordon PEERMAN, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Stanley H. SIDICANE and Martha Beazley Carson, Defendants-Appellants. 605 S.W.2d 242
• Court: Tennessee Court of Appeals

Page 242

605 S.W.2d 242

C. Gordon PEERMAN, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellee, v.Stanley H. SIDICANE and Martha Beazley CarsonDefendants-Appellants.

605 S.W.2d 242

Court of Appeals of Tennessee, Middle Section.

Feb. 29, 1980.

Rehearing Denied April 25, 1980.

Ward DeWitt, Jr., Trabue, Sturdivant & DeWitt, Nashville, for plaintiff-appellee.

W. A. Moody, Nashville, for defendants-appellants.

OPINION

SHRIVER, Presiding Judge.

This is a suit by a physician against an attorney and his client for malicious prosecution and abuse of process.At the conclusion of the proof the Trial Judge directed a verdict in favor of the client, Martha Carson, but allowed the case to go to a jury as to the attorney, Sidicane, and the jury found for the plaintiff against him, awarding a judgment of $3,000.00 compensatory and $8,500.00 punitive damages, from which award the defendant Sidicane perfected his appeal to this Court and has assigned errors.-The Proceedings Below-

On December 12, 1974, a complaint was filed in the Circuit Court of Davidson County on behalf of Martha Beazley Carson against C. Gordon Peerman, Jr., M.D., alleging that on December 13, 1973the plaintiff, being ill, consulted the defendant, Dr. C. Gordon Peerman, Jr., who examined her, and it is alleged that in so doing he did not use the care and skill ordinarily used by physicians engaged in medical practice, and negligently and incorrectly diagnosed her condition as gonorrhea and gave her a prescription for treatment thereof; that the defendant knowing full well that chemical and other tests are available to determine accurately the presence of such disease, and that such tests could be run in a matter of hours, failed to advise plaintiff until her next visit two weeks later that his diagnosis was, in fact, false; that by reason of the negligence of the defendant, plaintiff was caused great anxiety and mental anguish and suffered greatly in mind, all of which would have been avoided if defendant had properly diagnosed her illness and treated her as he should have done.

In a Second Count it was charged that the defendant, solely for financial gain, received a portion of the fees allegedly charged for the tests from a certain laboratory and for that reason failed to have an immediate determination as to the plaintiff's condition and, in the alternative, plaintiff alleged that defendant submitted plaintiff's tests to a laboratory which would charge defendant less and for reasons of monetary gain the tests were delayed.

Said complaint sought $100,000.00 compensatory and punitive damages.

Thereafter, on May 7, 1976, a Summary Judgment was granted in favor of the defendant, Dr. Peerman, and the cause of the plaintiff Carson was dismissed.

On May 4, 1977, the present suit was instituted by Dr. Peerman, against Sidicane and Carson, alleging that on December 20, 1973, the defendant, Martha Beazley Carson consulted the plaintiff concerning pain in her lower abdomen, whereupon, plaintiff made an examination and diagnosis of acute pelvic inflammation, and informed her that she might possibly have gonorrhea and that a laboratory test would be necessary to confirm the diagnosis and that such tests would take several days.She was given a prescription and appropriate treatment for acute pelvic inflammatory disease and that on December 27, 1973, she returned to plaintiff's office and was informed that the culture for gonorrhea was negative, and it was found that the inflammation was subsiding and plaintiff prescribed further medication and told her to return in four weeks, which she failed to do; that on December 12, 1974, through her attorney, Stanley H. Sidicane, Martha Beazley Carson filed suit against plaintiff, alleging negligence in the diagnosis of her condition and further alleging that plaintiff received a "kickback" of a portion of the fees charged for laboratory tests, and that on May 7, 1976, the suit against the plaintiff was dismissed on Motion for Summary Judgment.

It is further alleged that the slightest investigation by either of the defendants would have revealed that the plaintiff had given defendant Carson the most reliable medical laboratory test and that the results were available in a minimum of 48 hours; that the slightest investigation by the defendant Sidicane would have revealed that any delay in defendant Carson's learning the results of her test was brought about by her failure to call the plaintiff's office after 48 hours; that the slightest investigation by either of the defendants would have revealed that there was no factual basis whatsoever for the allegation that the plaintiff was underhandedly, unlawfully or illegally participating in or receiving portions of the laboratory fees; that defendants Carson and Sidicane, with malice, and without probable cause, wrongfully caused a suit to be filed against the plaintiff which resulted in the incurring of expenses in the defense of a groundless lawsuit, and causing mental anguish and suffering over defendant's vexatious litigation, and plaintiff was forced to use his time, otherwise dedicated to the practice of medicine, in his defense of the defendant's unwarranted and unjustified lawsuit.

The record herein shows that Dr. Peerman is a noted gynecologist, graduate of Vanderbilt University in 1949, served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps., taught obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt since 1954, a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American College of Surgeons, President of the Tennessee Medical Association in 1976-77, a member of the Board of Trustees for two terms, former chief of obstetrics and gynecology at St. Thomas Hospital, has published articles in his field in various medical journals, and is altogether a prominent and highly respected doctor of medicine in Nashville.

Counsel for defendant-appellant Sidicane filed a Motion to Dismiss...