Case Title: Werner v. Kliewer

Citation: 238 Kan. 289, 710 P.2d 1250

Docket Number: 57,612

State: kansas

Court: Kansas Supreme Court

Date: 1985-12-06T00:00:00Z

Document:
238 Kan. 289 (1985)
710 P.2d 1250
JAYNE WERNER, Appellant,
v.
VERNON KLIEWER, M.D. and PRAIRIE VIEW, INC., Appellees,
v.
ROGER WERNER, Third Party Defendant-Appellee.
No. 57,612

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed December 6, 1985.
Karen Black, of Black and Black, of Salina, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.
Charles E. Hill, of Kahrs, Nelson, Fanning, Hite & Kellogg, of Wichita, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellee Vernon Kliewer, M.D.
Clarence L. King, Jr., of King, Adrian, King & Brown, Chartered, of Salina, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellee Prairie View, Inc.
Patrik W. Neustrom of Achterberg & Neustrom, of Salina, was on the brief for third-party defendant-appellee Roger Werner.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
HOLMES, J.:
Jayne Werner, plaintiff in the district court, appeals from an order of summary judgment in favor of defendants, Vernon Kliewer, M.D. and Prairie View, Inc., in her action for damages based upon invasion of privacy and breach of contract.
Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 3.05 (235 Kan. lxiv) the parties have submitted a prepared statement of facts and issues in the district court in lieu of a record on appeal. The agreed statement provides:
"STATEMENT OF FACTS
"STATEMENT OF ISSUES
"The legal issues before the trial court were:
The letter of which Mrs. Werner complains states in its entirety:
"November 29, 1982
"RE: Jayne Werner
"Dear Judge Hoobler:
"Sincerely yours,
After discovery was complete, and prior to trial, the trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants Kliewer and Prairie View on all issues and theories asserted by plaintiff. Plaintiff has appealed the trial court's ruling on both her claim of invasion of privacy and her claim of breach of contract.
At the outset it should be noted that summary judgment is only proper where the record shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Peoples Nat'l Bank & Trust v. Excel Corp., 236 Kan. 687, 695 P.2d 444 (1985). When summary judgment *293 is challenged on appeal, the appellate court must read the record in the light most favorable to the party who defended against the motion for summary judgment. Credit Union of Amer. v. Myers, 234 Kan. 773, 676 P.2d 99 (1984).
Appellant's claim of an invasion of privacy is based upon three theories: First, an unreasonable intrusion upon her seclusion as defined in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652B (1976); second, unreasonable publicity of her private life, Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652D; and third, an implied right to privacy under Kansas law, without regard to Restatement principles. While at common law there was no physician-patient privilege (Armstrong v. Street Railway Co., 93 Kan. 493, 502, 144 Pac. 847 [1914]), most states, including Kansas, have adopted such a privilege by statute. K.S.A. 60-427. The statute precludes physicians from disclosing confidential communications between them and their patients. Thus, the confidentiality of the physician-patient relationship is a matter of strong public policy in Kansas. However, the statutory privilege is subject to several exceptions. K.S.A. 60-427(d) provides:
In the Werner divorce proceeding pending before Judge Hoobler, the care and custody of the couple's minor children were in issue. As Jayne Werner was seeking custody of the children in her divorce action, her fitness as a parent and ability to care for her children were issues to be determined by the court. Under such circumstances and to the extent that the otherwise privileged information is relevant to the issue of custody, she is deemed to have waived any statutory privilege under K.S.A. 60-427. Cf. In re Zappa, 6 Kan. App.2d 633, 631 P.2d 1245 (1981).
Two of appellant's arguments asserting an invasion of privacy are based upon the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652A et seq. § 652A provides:
"§ 652A. General Principle
(2) The right of privacy is invaded by
Obviously, § 652C and § 652E are not applicable to the present case. The analysis of the right of privacy contained in the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652 was adopted in Kansas in Dotson v. McLaughlin, 216 Kan. 201, 531 P.2d 1 (1975).
Appellant relies upon § 652B for her first contention that Dr. Kliewer violated her right to privacy by an unreasonable intrusion upon her seclusion. § 652B provides:
"§ 652B. Intrusion upon Seclusion
A cause of action based upon § 652B was specifically recognized by this court in Froelich v. Adair, 213 Kan. 357, 359, 516 P.2d 993 (1973). However, to prevail upon such a claim it is necessary to establish two factors: First, something in the nature of an intentional interference in the solitude or seclusion of a person's physical being, or prying into his private affairs or concerns, and second, that the intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Comment b. to § 652B of the Restatement reads:
Does the conduct of Dr. Kliewer meet the necessary tests of § 652B? We think not. Generally, the tort of intrusion upon seclusion is based upon the manner in which an individual obtains information. Several cases are illustrative: installation of *295 an electronic listening device in a tenant's bedroom, Hamberger v. Eastman, 106 N.H. 107, 206 A.2d 239 (1964); taking pictures and peeking through windows with binoculars, Souder v. Pendleton Detectives, 88 So. 2d 716 (La. App. 1956); unauthorized prying into the plaintiff's bank account, Brex v. Smith, 104 N.J. Eq. 386, 146 A. 34 (1929). See also Prosser and Keeton on Torts § 117, 854-856 (5th ed. 1984). In addition, the intrusion must be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Here, there was no information in the letter written by Dr. Kliewer which would not have been obtainable through customary discovery procedures. Appellant does not deny the truth or accuracy of the contents of the letter and it is admitted that there is nothing in the letter which was not already known by her husband. The welfare and future custody of the minor children were at stake and although it would have been preferable to have followed standard court and discovery procedures, the information revealed, under the circumstances of this case, certainly does not rise to the level of being highly offensive to a reasonable person. Mrs. Werner had previously attempted suicide, had contemplated it the day she checked into the hospital, and had indicated that she might harm the children. While the disclosure of intimate facts and opinions about Mrs. Werner's mental condition would ordinarily be highly objectionable, any such determination must be made in light of the totality of the circumstances. The letter was directed to a judge, who had the direct responsibility of determining the best interests of the minor children and to provide for their care and safety. Under all of the circumstances of this case, the disclosures made by Dr. Kliewer cannot be considered highly offensive to a reasonable person. The trial court was correct in ruling Mrs. Werner had failed to establish a cause of action based upon an intrusion upon her seclusion.
Next, appellant asserts her privacy was invaded under § 652D of the Restatement, which reads:
"§ 652D. Publicity Given to Private Life
(b) is not of legitimate concern to the public."
This claim, also, lacks merit for several reasons. We have already determined that the contents of the letter could not be considered *296 "highly offensive to a reasonable person" under the facts of this case. Although a cause of action under § 652D has been recognized in Kansas (Rawlins v. Hutchinson Publishing Co., 218 Kan. 295, 543 P.2d 988 [1975]; Munsell v. Ideal Food Stores, 208 Kan. 909, 494 P.2d 1063 [1972]), it is doubtful that these facts would support a finding that the letter was given the necessary publicity required to sustain this claim. Comment a. to § 652D distinguishes "publication" from "publicity" and states, "`publicity' ... means that the matter is made public, by communicating it to the public at large, or to so many persons that the matter must be regarded as substantially certain to become one of public knowledge." The comment continues, "it is not an invasion of the right of privacy ... to communicate a [private fact] to a single person or even to a small group of persons." See Vogel, et al. v. W.T. Grant Company, Aplnt., 458 Pa. 124, 132, 327 A.2d 133 (1974), holding communication to four people as insufficient publicity. Cf. Beard v. Akzona, Inc., 517 F. Supp. 128, 132, 133 (E.D. Tenn. 1981); Brown v. Mullarkey, 632 S.W.2d 507, 509 (Mo. App. 1982). Here the only publicity was to the court services officer, the district judge handling the divorce action, and the attorneys for the parties, all being officers of the court.
Finally, under § 652D it must be shown that the contents of the letter were "not of legitimate concern to the public." In her brief plaintiff concludes, "[r]evealing a patient's confidences is obviously material that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person; there is no legitimate concern to the public." While we agree most individuals would consider the disclosure of their psychiatric history offensive, it does not automatically follow that the public has no legitimate concern. K.S.A. 60-1610(a)(3) provides the trial court shall determine child custody in accordance with the best interests of the child. In recent years the legislature has demonstrated its concern for the welfare of children by enacting several provisions, including the Kansas Code for Care of Children, K.S.A. 1984 Supp. 38-1501 et seq.; the Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, K.S.A. 38-1301 et seq.; and the establishment of the Children and Youth Advisory Committee, K.S.A. 1984 Supp. 38-1401. Clearly, the welfare of children is a matter of public policy of great state concern and we have so held numerous times. In re Adoption of McMullen, 236 Kan. 348, 352, *297 691 P.2d 17 (1984); Sheppard v. Sheppard, 230 Kan. 146, 149, 630 P.2d 1121 (1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 919 (1982).
In the present case the plaintiff was diagnosed as suicidal, having unsuccessfully attempted suicide on several occasions. Beyond being suicidal, it appears that on at least one occasion she threatened to kill her children and then commit suicide. In short, the evidence supports Dr. Kliewer's conclusion that the plaintiff represented a significant risk of harm to herself and possibly to her children. In view of the legitimate concern of the State for the welfare of children, the plaintiff's conclusion that no legitimate public interest exists lacks merit. No error is shown.
Lastly, in her claim based upon an invasion of privacy, appellant contends that a cause of action exists outside the scope of the Restatement § 652. Under the facts of this case we need not determine whether such a cause of action might exist under other circumstances. Appellant makes numerous arguments based upon the physician-patient privilege set forth in K.S.A. 60-427, the definition of unprofessional conduct in K.S.A. 65-2837(b)(6), and cases from other jurisdictions which are only partially on point. It is argued that Dr. Kliewer breached a confidential relationship between him and Mrs. Werner. Appellant appears to concede that if there existed a paramount public interest then the disclosure might have been proper but asserts there is no public interest involved except that of the confidentiality of the physician-patient relationship. As already pointed out, such a position totally ignores the overriding public policy involving the safety, care and welfare of minor children. See Annot., 10 A.L.R. 4th 576. We find no merit in appellant's contentions that this case merits the adoption of a cause of action for invasion of privacy separate and distinct from those contained in § 652 of the Restatement.
As an alternative to her action for invasion of privacy, Mrs. Werner asserts that defendants are liable under a breach of contract theory. The trial court, relying upon Malone v. University of Kansas Medical Center, 220 Kan. 371, 552 P.2d 885 (1976), granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment holding that the claim sounded in tort and not in contract. In her brief, appellant appears to contend that a breach of the confidentiality which exists between physician and patient constitutes a breach of an express warranty. Obviously, from the agreed *298 statement of facts, no express warranty was involved. Although we have held that a physician may bind himself by an express warranty, the facts here merit no such finding. See Noel v. Proud, 189 Kan. 6, 367 P.2d 61 (1961). In Malone we stated:
The court quoted from Yeager v. Dunnavan, 26 Wash. 2d 559, 174 P.2d 755 (1946), to the effect that:
While we recognize that the public policy embodied in the physician-patient privilege and the physician's duty to maintain the confidentiality of the relationship warrants great deference, it must be balanced against competing interests of the State, including its public policy relating to the care and protection of children. Under the facts of this case, where potential physical harm, not only to Mrs. Werner but also to her minor children, was involved, we have no hesitancy in holding that the disclosure by Dr. Kliewer to Judge Hoobler did not constitute such conduct as warrants liability on the part of the defendants on either an invasion of privacy or breach of contract theory. We do emphasize, however, that the better procedure would be to refrain from any such disclosure except under the auspices and direction of the trial court through discovery, a motion in limine, in-camera inspection, or such other protective procedure as may be appropriate.
The judgment is affirmed.