Quirk v. Mustang Engineering, Inc., 97-31289
| Decision Date | 29 June 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-31289,97-31289 |
| Citation | 143 F.3d 973 |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
| Parties | Gerard QUIRK and Rose Quirk, individually and on behalf of Joey Quirk, Gerry Quirk and Rusty Quirk, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. MUSTANG ENGINEERING, INC., Deepwater Production Systems, Inc., BP Exploration & Oil, Inc., and Tatham Offshore, Inc., Defendants-Third-Party Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. J. Frazer GAAR, M.D., Defendant-Third-Party Defendant-Appellant. |
Joseph R. Joy, III, Lafayette, LA, for the Quirks.
Hal J. Broussard, James T. Rivera, Broussard, David and Daigle, Lafayette, LA, for Mustang Engineering, Inc.
Allen L. Smith, Jr., Plauche, Smith & Nieset, Lake Charles, LA, for Deepwater Production Systems, Inc. BP Exploration & Oil, Inc. and Tatham Offshore, Inc.
Marc Wayne Judice, James J. Hautot, Jr., Judice & Adley, Lafayette, LA, for J. Frazier Gaar.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
Before GARWOOD, DAVIS and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges.
Dr. J. Frazer Gaar appeals from an order of the district court denying his motion for summary judgment based on absolute quasi-judicial immunity. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.
On June 5, 1993, while working as a pipe fitter for Seawolf Services, Inc., appellee Gerard Quirk tripped and fell backwards on an offshore platform, injuring his back. He was immediately treated at a local hospital emergency room. Quirk did not return to work after the accident and began receiving benefits under the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act ("LHWCA").
Soon after the accident, Quirk was examined by his family physician, Dr. Joseph Patton. Dr. Patton referred Quirk to Dr. Stuart Phillips, an orthopedic surgeon. After months of treatment, Dr. Phillips recommended that Quirk undergo surgery to correct a herniated disc. At the request of his employer's insurance company, Gray Insurance ("Gray"), Quirk was examined by Dr. Clifton Shepherd. Dr. Shepherd concluded that Quirk did not need surgery.
On July 15, 1994, a claims adjuster for Gray wrote Quirk's attorney concerning the conflicting medical opinions and suggested that Quirk submit to an Independent Medical Examination ("IME") by a third physician. The parties agreed to have Dr. Gaar perform the IME. After examining Quirk and reviewing his chart, Dr. Gaar issued a report in which he concluded that Quirk did not need surgery and that he was able to return to work. Consequently, in October 1994, Gray terminated Quirk's benefits.
Quirk subsequently filed a complaint with the Department of Labor ("DOL") contesting the termination of his benefits. 1 On December 1, 1994, an informal conference was held by a DOL claims examiner. 2 After the conference the claims examiner reviewed the materials in Quirk's file, including Dr. Gaar's report, and decided that Quirk was not entitled to further workers' compensation benefits. 3 In his memorandum of conference, the examiner expressly relied on Dr. Gaar's opinions, stating that
On December 5, 1995, Dr. Phillips performed an emergency spinal fusion on Quirk. After the surgery, Quirk's DOL complaint became moot as Gray voluntarily reinstated Quirk's worker's compensation benefits and paid Quirk over $16,000 in benefits previously denied.
During the interim, on June 6, 1994, Quirk and his wife filed this action against defendants-appellees Mustang Engineering, Inc., and Deepwater Production Systems, Inc., subsequently adding defendants-appellees BP Exploration & Oil, Inc. and Tatham Offshore, Inc. Quirk alleged that defendants-appellees were responsible for the injuries he sustained. On June 27, 1997, defendants-appellees filed a third-party complaint against Dr. Gaar, alleging medical malpractice. On July 22, 1997, Quirk added Dr. Gaar as a defendant, also alleging medical malpractice.
On October 8, 1997, Dr. Gaar filed a motion for summary judgment based on absolute quasi-judicial immunity. After a hearing on November 13, 1997, the district court orally denied Dr. Gaar's motion. Dr. Gaar appeals. We have jurisdiction over interlocutory appeals from orders denying summary judgment based on absolute immunity where, as here, there are no material factual issues in dispute. See Williams v. Collins, 728 F.2d 721, 726 (5th Cir.1984).
Dr. Gaar argues that he is entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity from any civil liability based on the opinions he rendered in connection with the IME he performed on Quirk. He contends that he is entitled to such immunity because his opinions were relied on by the claims examiner and he thus functioned as a witness at the informal conference.
Witnesses receive absolute quasi-judicial immunity from subsequent damages liability arising from their participation in judicial proceedings because they are considered an "integral" part of the judicial process. See Briscoe v. LaHue, 460 U.S. 325, 335, 103 S.Ct. 1108, 1115, 75 L.Ed.2d 96 (1983). "It is precisely the function of a judicial proceeding to determine where the truth lies," id. at 335, 103 S.Ct. at 1115 (quoting Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 439, 96 S.Ct. 984, 999, 47 L.Ed.2d 128 (1976) (White, J., concurring)), and witnesses play an essential role in that endeavor. If witnesses were subject to liability arising from their participation in judicial proceedings, however, they might be less inclined to come forward and provide "candid, objective, and undistorted" testimony. Id. at 333-34, 103 S.Ct. at 1113-14. Accordingly, witnesses are given absolute immunity so that "the paths which lead to the ascertainment of truth should be left as free and unobstructed as possible." Id. at 333, 103 S.Ct. at 1113 (quoting Calkins v. Sumner, 13 Wis. 193, 197 (1860)). In Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 512-13, 98 S.Ct. 2894, 2914, 57 L.Ed.2d 895 (1978), the Supreme Court held that an "adjudication within a federal administrative agency shares enough of the characteristics of the judicial process that those who participate in such adjudication should also be immune from suits for damages."
Although the parties dispute whether the informal conference was an "adjudication within a federal administrative agency," we need not decide...
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