Sherer v. Sarma
| Decision Date | 05 September 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 5–13–0207.,5–13–0207. |
| Citation | 18 N.E.3d 181,2014 IL App (5th) 130207,385 Ill.Dec. 181 |
| Parties | Janice SHERER, Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Sara Sherer Ott, Deceased, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Jay SARMA, Defendant–Appellee. (Jacob Ott, Montgomery County Mental Health Department, Martha Benning, and Psychiatric Associates of Central Illinois, Defendants). |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
Kenneth James Hogan, Kenneth James Hogan, P.C., Galesburg, IL; James C. Brandenburg, Brandenburg–Rees & Rees, Carlinville, IL, for Appellant.
Christian D. Biswell, Drake, Narup & Mead, P.C., Springfield, IL, for Appellee.
¶ 1 In the circuit court of Montgomery County, the plaintiff, Janice Sherer, individually and as administrator of the estate of her deceased daughter, Sara Sherer Ott, brought wrongful death and survival actions against the defendant, Jay Sarma, M.D., alleging that Sarma had been negligent in her care and treatment of Sara and Sara's husband, Jacob Ott. The plaintiff appeals from the circuit court's order granting Sarma's motion for summary judgment on all counts against her. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
¶ 3 Defendant Sarma is a psychiatrist licensed to practice in Illinois. In 2003, her employment with Psychiatric Associates of Central Illinois included providing services to patients of the Montgomery County Mental Health Department in Hillsboro (the health department). Jacob and Sara were two of Sarma's patients.
¶ 4 In 1997, when Jacob was a teenager, he began experiencing delusions and auditory hallucinations and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Springfield. During his hospitalization, Jacob was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and depression, and he was violent until his schizophrenia was stabilized with Clozaril. He was also prescribed Zoloft for his depression. Following his hospitalization, Jacob was treated and medicated by a psychiatrist in Springfield until August 2003, when he and Sara married and his care was transferred to the health department.
¶ 5 On September 9, 2003, Jacob saw Sarma for the first time. Jacob also met with his assigned case manager, Martha Benning. Sarma noted that Jacob was doing well and that he and Sara had recently gotten married and were looking for an apartment. Jacob advised that he was stable on his medications, and he denied experiencing hallucinations or psychotic symptoms. The agreed treatment plan for Jacob was that he continue taking his prescribed medications and return in three months.
¶ 6 On December 9, 2003, Jacob saw Sarma and Benning again. Benning noted that Jacob was in a good mood, and he denied having any psychotic symptoms. Jacob indicated that he was compliant with his prescribed medications. Jacob further indicated that he was happy in his marriage. Sarma noted that Jacob had seemed preoccupied, but he reported that he was doing well. Sarma recommended that Jacob continue taking Clozaril and Zoloft.
¶ 7 On December 24 or 25, 2003, Jacob became upset about a gift of money that his father had given Sara for Christmas. Jacob subsequently took the money after telling Sara that she could not keep it.
¶ 8 On January 4, 2004, Jacob and Sara went to the plaintiff's house, and Jacob confronted the plaintiff about her attempts to convince Sara to move back home with her. Jacob was angry and aggressive and wanted to fight the plaintiff. The plaintiff called Jacob's father during the encounter, but Jacob and Sara left before his father arrived. Thereafter, Jacob's family started checking up on him several times a day.
¶ 9 On January 6, 2004, Jacob's mother called Benning at the health department and advised that Jacob had stopped taking his prescribed medications. She further advised that he had not been making threatening statements and that she did not believe that he was a danger to himself or others. Benning told Jacob's mother that he needed to restart his medications immediately and that voluntary hospitalization was an available option.
¶ 10 On January 7, 2004, Jacob's mother took him to see Dr. Doug Byers in Springfield. Byers was told that Jacob had stopped taking his Clozaril as prescribed. Jacob made no threats and had not presented himself as a danger to anyone. Jacob told Byers that he had decreased his Clozaril intake to one pill a day because the medicine made him feel sluggish and affected his hearing. Jacob admitted, however, that he was now more irritable, was not sleeping very well, and was not "getting along very well." Jacob agreed to increase his Clozaril intake until he could meet with Dr. Sarma again.
¶ 11 On January 8, 2004, Jacob and Sara attended a scheduled appointment at the health department. The plaintiff was initially present, but Jacob ordered her away, stating that the "problem" was between him and Sara. Minutes later, Sara left the appointment crying, and Sara indicated that Jacob had told her to leave. When Jacob met with Benning the same day, he told her that he had been off of his medications for four to six weeks but had restarted taking his Clozaril the previous night. Jacob reported that he was irritable and could not be around people. Benning noted that Jacob was psychotic and very fixed on his delusional beliefs, but he was neither aggressive nor combative. Jacob never threatened to harm Sara or anyone else, and Benning did not believe that he was a danger to himself or others. Dr. Sarma was not at the health department that day, and no one advised her that Jacob had stopped taking his Clozaril. Benning noted that Jacob had an appointment to see Sarma the following week. On the evening of January 8, 2004, Jacob and Sara went to Jacob's mother's house for dinner and then went back to their apartment.
¶ 12 On the morning of January 9, 2004, Sara went to the plaintiff's house to borrow some laundry detergent and then returned home. Jacob's mother stopped by the couple's apartment at least twice that day to make sure that Jacob was still taking his Clozaril and things were "pleasant and normal between Jacob and Sara." That night, the plaintiff and her husband went to the apartment to check on Sara, and Jacob's father and stepmother were there, too. Jacob and Sara seemed fine. Hours later, Jacob stabbed Sara to death. The following week, Sarma learned what had happened.
¶ 13 On January 6, 2005, the plaintiff filed her initial complaint setting forth her wrongful death and survival actions arising from Sara's murder. Sarma was named one of the numerous defendants in the cause, and six amended complaints followed. The plaintiff filed her sixth amended complaint on September 17, 2008. In counts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, and IX of her sixth amended complaint, the plaintiff collectively alleged, among other things, that Sarma had been negligent in her treatment of Sara by failing to warn her of the threat that Jacob posed and that Sarma had also been negligent in her treatment of Jacob.
¶ 14 On November 16, 2012, Sarma filed a motion for summary judgment with a supporting memorandum. Sarma alleged that she was entitled to summary judgment on all of the plaintiff's counts against her because the plaintiff could not maintain a negligence action based on Jacob's physician-patient relationship and because there was no evidence that Jacob had ever made any specific threats that would give rise to a duty to warn Sara.
¶ 15 On December 18, 2012, the plaintiff filed a response to Sarma's motion for summary judgment with a supporting memorandum. The plaintiff maintained that because Sara and Jacob were both Sarma's patients, Sarma's treatment of Jacob was actionable by Sara, and Sara was not a "third party" for purposes of Sarma's duty to warn.
¶ 16 On February 6, 2013, the cause proceeded to a hearing on Sarma's motion for summary judgment. After both parties argued their respective positions, the circuit court took the matter under advisement.
¶ 17 On February 8, 2013, the circuit court entered a written order granting Sarma's motion for summary judgment "with prejudice." Citing Eckhardt v. Kirts, 179 Ill.App.3d 863, 128 Ill.Dec. 734, 534 N.E.2d 1339 (1989), the court held that because there was no evidence that Jacob had ever made any specific threats to harm Sara, Sarma had no duty to warn Sara that Jacob was a possible threat. The court further held that the fact that Sara was also Sarma's patient did "not change the duty owed her" and that to expand Sarma's duty as the plaintiff suggested "would clearly be contrary to case law and public policy." Following the circuit court's denial of her motion to reconsider, the plaintiff filed a timely notice of appeal.
¶ 19 "A motion for summary judgment should only be granted when the pleadings, depositions, and affidavits demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Jackson v. TLC Associates, Inc., 185 Ill.2d 418, 423, 235 Ill.Dec. 905, 706 N.E.2d 460 (1998). "Summary judgment is a drastic measure and should only be granted if the movant's right to judgment is clear and free from doubt." Outboard Marine Corp. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 154 Ill.2d 90, 102, 180 Ill.Dec. 691, 607 N.E.2d 1204 (1992). Our review of a circuit court's order granting summary judgment is de novo. Id.
¶ 20 "To recover damages based upon negligence, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff, that the defendant breached that duty, and that the breach was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury." Krywin v. Chicago Transit Authority, 238 Ill.2d 215, 225, 345 Ill.Dec. 1, 938 N.E.2d 440 (2010). "The existence of a duty under a particular set of circumstances is a question of law for the court to decide." Choate v. Indiana Harbor Belt R.R. Co., 2012 IL 112948, ¶ 22, 366 Ill.Dec. 258, 980 N.E.2d 58. "Absent a duty, ‘no recovery by the plaintiff is possible as a matter of...
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...the plaintiff sustained damages. Chandler v. Illinois Central R.R. Co., 207 Ill. 2d 331, 340, 798 N.E.2d 724, 728 (2003); Sherer v. Sarma, 2014 IL App (5th) 130207, ¶ 19, 18 N.E.3d 181. Breach of duty and proximate causation both present questions of fact. Chandler, 207 Ill. 2d at 340, 798 ......