Tanner v. Hart

• Decision Date: 08 January 2021
• Docket Number: Case No. 2D20-1470
• Citation: Tanner v. Hart, 313 So.3d 805 (Fla. App. 2021)
• Parties: Sally TANNER and Tropical Music Services, Inc., Petitioners, v. Danielle HART, Respondent.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

313 So.3d 805

Sally TANNER and Tropical Music Services, Inc., Petitioners,

v.Danielle HART, Respondent.

Case No. 2D20-1470

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

Opinion filed January 8, 2021.

Kansas R. Gooden of Boyd & Jenerette, P.A., Miami, and Kevin D. Franz of Boyd & Jenerette, P.A., Boca Raton, for Petitioners.

Kristen M. Collins and Marc D. Matthews of McIntyre Thanasides Bringgold Elliott Grimaldi Guito & Matthews, P.A., Tampa, for Respondent.

LABRIT, Judge.

Sally Tannerpetitions for a writ of certiorari as to an order compelling production of nearly ten years of her medical records.She contends the order departs from the essential requirements of law and causes material injury that cannot be remedied on plenary appeal because it violates her constitutional right to privacy and requires disclosure of information that is irrelevant to the issues in litigation.We agree, grant the petition, and quash the order.

BACKGROUND

RespondentDanielle Hart sued Ms. Tanner in 2018, alleging negligence in connection with a 2014 automobile accident that occurred when Ms. Tanner was seventy-nine years old.In 2019(five years after the accident), Ms. Hart sought to depose Ms. Tanner, who was then in hospice care and suffering memory loss associated with dementia, as confirmed by letters from two of her physicians.

After learning of Ms. Tanner's diagnosis and inability to be deposed, Ms. Hart sought production from Ms. Tanner's physicians of "any and all" of the following medical records:

new patient information; office notes; medical reports; X-ray, MRI, CT scan, lab or other diagnostic reports; phone messages from patient; letters authored by any doctor, nurse, or nurse practitioner currently or previously employed by the practice to any third-party recipient; prescriptions; SOAP notes; narrative reports; nurse or nurse practitioner reports; discharge summary.

Ms. Tanner objected that these requests impinged upon her constitutional right to privacy, were overbroad, and sought information that was irrelevant to the issue framed by the pleadings—whether Ms. Tanner was negligent in 2014.

The trial court initially sustained these objections, finding that Ms. Tanner's medical condition was not at issue and concluding that disclosure of the medical records would violate her constitutional privacy rights.The trial court later granted Ms. Hart's request for reconsideration and directed production of the records for the time period of December 2011 through April 2020.The trial court did not examine the records in camera but directed the parties to execute a confidentiality agreement.

Ms. Tanner moved for reconsideration, reiterating arguments she made in support of her objections to the document requests.To substantiate her overbreadth and relevance arguments, Ms. Tanner submitted the deposition of her son, who testified that Ms. Tanner's memory problems did not begin until 2016(two years after the accident), when she was diagnosed with early onset of dementia.Mr. Tanner also was unaware of Ms. Tanner being involved in any other automobile accidents from 2009 until she stopped driving in 2016 or 2017.The trial court denied Ms. Tanner's motion for reconsideration and she timely filed her petition for certiorari directed to the order compelling production of the medical records.

ANALYSIS

A petition for certiorari may be granted only if the petitioner demonstrates "(1) a departure from the essential requirements of the law, (2) resulting in material injury for the remainder of the case[,](3) that cannot be corrected on postjudgment appeal."Hett v. Barron-Lunde, 290 So. 3d 565, 569(Fla. 2d DCA2020)(alteration in original)(quotingBd. of Trs. of Internal Improvement Tr. Fund v. Am. Educ. Enters.,LLC, 99 So. 3d 450, 454(Fla.2012) ).The last two elements are jurisdictional and must be analyzed before the first element.SeeRodriguez v. Miami-Dade Cnty., 117 So. 3d 400, 404(Fla.2013)("The threshold question ... is whether there is a material injury that cannot be corrected on appeal, otherwise termed as irreparable harm.Only after irreparable harm has been established can an appellate court then review whether the petitioner has also shown a departure from the essential requirements of law."(citations omitted)).

"A patient's medical records enjoy a confidential status by virtue of the right to privacy contained in [article 1, section 23 of] the Florida Constitution."State v. Johnson, 814 So. 2d 390, 393(Fla.2002);see alsoBarker v. Barker, 909 So. 2d 333, 337(Fla. 2d DCA2005)("Court orders compelling discovery of personal medical records constitute state action that may impinge on the constitutional right to privacy.").Thus, an order that compels production of a party's medical records satisfies the jurisdictional element of irreparable harm.SeeJames v. Veneziano, 98 So. 3d 697, 698(Fla. 4th DCA2012)(stating that certiorari jurisdiction existed to review order directing the defendant in a negligence action to produce ten years' worth of medical records);see alsoPaylan v. Fitzgerald, 223 So. 3d 431, 434(Fla. 2d DCA2017)("Orders that require disclosure of confidential medical information meet the irreparable harm requirement for certiorari review because once such information is improperly disclosed, the harm caused by that disclosure cannot be undone."(citingUSAA Cas. Ins. Co. v. Callery, 66 So. 3d 315, 316(Fla. 2d DCA2011) )).Because the order on review compels disclosure of confidential medical information, we are empowered to exercise certiorari jurisdiction.

The next inquiry is whether the order departs from the essential requirements of law.Discovery orders requiring "disclosure of claimed confidential information are reviewed with greater caution than those that are simply burdensome or costly due to overbreadth."Rousso v. Hannon, 146 So. 3d 66, 71(Fla. 3d DCA2014).And "[w]hen personal medical records are sought, the State's interest in fair and efficient resolution of disputes by allowing broad discovery must be balanced against the individual's competing privacy interests to prevent an undue invasion of privacy."Barker, 909 So. 2d at 338(citingRasmussen v. S. Fla. Blood Serv., Inc., 500 So. 2d 533, 535(Fla.1987) ).In this context, a trial court departs from the essential requirements of law by ordering production of medical records without inspecting the records in camera "to prevent disclosure of information that is not relevant to the litigation."Id.;see alsoZarzaur v. Zarzaur, 213 So. 3d 1115, 1120(Fla. 1st...