Title: Ex Parte Qureshi
Citation: 768 So. 2d 374
Docket Number: 1980160, 1980179
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: April 7, 2000

768 So. 2d 374 (2000)
Ex parte Dr. F.H. QURESHI and Central Alabama Orthopedic.
Ex parte Vaughan Regional Medical Center, Inc. and
Ex parte Stacy Larrimore.
(Re Stacy Larrimore v. Vaughan Regional Medical Center, Inc., et al.)
1980160 and 1980179.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
April 7, 2000.
William S. Haynes and Rachel Sanders-Cochran of Rushton, Stakely, Johnston &amp; Garrett, P.A., Montgomery, for Dr. F.H. Qureshi and Central Alabama Orthopedic.
Walter W. Bates and Scott M. Salter of Starnes &amp; Atchison, L.L.P., Birmingham, for Vaughan Regional Medical Center, Inc.
Vernon L. Wells II and N. Christian Glenos of Walston, Wells, Anderson &amp; Baines, L.L.P., Birmingham, for Stacy Larrimore.
Joseph C. Espy III and James E. Williams, of Melton, Espy, Williams &amp; Hayes, P.C., Montgomery; and Gregg Brantley Everett, general counsel, Alabama Hospital Ass'n, for amicus curiae Alabama Hospital Association.
BROWN, Justice.
The question presented by these petitions for the writ of mandamus is whether certain records of Vaughan Regional Medical Center, Inc. ("Vaughan Regional"), relating to a staff physician are privileged under state law and, therefore, not subject to discovery. The trial judge held that some of the records were discoverable, but that some of them were not discoverable *375 because, he said, the discovery request was "overly broad." To the extent that the trial court ordered that the records were discoverable, we conclude that he erred. Therefore, we grant the petitions of Dr. F.H. Qureshi, Central Alabama Orthopedic, and Vaughan Regional for a writ of mandamus directing the trial judge to vacate his orders compelling discovery.
Stacy Larrimore sued Dr. Qureshi and Central Alabama Orthopedic, alleging medical malpractice on the part of Dr. Qureshi. Specifically, Larrimore alleged that Dr. Qureshi had breached the applicable standard of care by improperly setting her broken left ankle and by failing to adequately and properly render postsurgical treatment regarding her broken ankle. Larrimore also sued Vaughan Regional, alleging that it had failed to render adequate postoperative care to her and that it had negligently or wantonly permitted Dr. Qureshi to perform the kind of procedures and treatments he had utilized on her. Additionally, Larrimore alleged that Vaughan Regional had been negligent in hiring and credentialing Dr. Qureshi.
On January 21, 1998, Larrimore issued a notice of deposition to Vaughan Regional. The notice sought, pursuant to Rule 30(b)(6), Ala.R.Civ.P., to have a representative of Vaughan Regional testify regarding several subjects, including Dr. Qureshi's qualifications, training, education, and board certification in the field of orthopedic surgery. The notice further sought any investigations or evaluations of Dr. Qureshi and his qualifications, training, education, and board certification in the field of orthopedic surgery conducted or received by Vaughan Regional before Dr. Qureshi was granted staff privileges. In addition, pursuant to Rule 30(b)(5), Ala. R.Civ.P., the notice asked that Vaughan Regional produce certain documents at this deposition, including the following:
Vaughan Regional filed an objection to producing documents that would be responsive to Request 3(h)-(k), claiming that the documents encompassed by that request were privileged, pursuant to § 22-21-8, Ala.Code 1975. Thereafter, Larrimore filed a motion to compel Vaughan Regional to comply with a discovery order the trial court had entered on September 10, 1997. On June 22, 1998, Vaughan Regional filed a response to Larrimore's motion to compel. Included as part of that response was the affidavit of Dr. Lotfi Bashir,[1] who was then serving as chairman of Vaughan Regional's credentialing committee. *376 In the affidavit, Dr. Bashir stated that the documents that would be responsive to Request 3(h)-(k) were maintained as part of Vaughan Regional's credentialing file on Dr. Qureshi. Dr. Bashir further stated that it was essential that the materials gathered by the hospital be kept confidential, so as to ensure that physicians applying for hospital staff privileges would provide complete and accurate information about their qualifications. Moreover, Dr. Bashir stated, if the information did not remain confidential then "physicians and health care institutions from whom materials are requested in the credentialing process would be less inclined to provide frank and open criticisms of physician applicants where warranted."
On July 9, 1998, the trial judge entered an order on Larrimore's motion to compel, stating in pertinent part:
Vaughan Regional then moved for a protective order holding that the documents referenced in the court's July 9, 1998, order did not have to be produced. See Ex parte Reynolds Metals Co., 710 So. 2d 897 (Ala.1998). On September 10, 1998, the trial court denied Vaughan Regional's request for a protective order.
On October 22, 1998, Vaughan Regional petitioned for the writ of mandamus, asking this Court to hold the documents sought by Request 3(i)-(k) privileged under § 22-21-8, Ala.Code 1975. On October 23, 1998, Dr. Qureshi and Central Alabama Orthopedic filed their own petition for the writ of mandamus, seeking similar relief. On December 7, 1998, Stacy Larrimore filed a response in opposition to these two petitions. Additionally, Larrimore filed what has been docketed as a cross-petition for the writ of mandamus, asking this Court to hold that Request 3(h) was not overly broad and to order the trial court to direct Vaughan Regional to produce all documents responsive to that request.
At issue in the instant cases is the meaning of § 22-21-8, Ala.Code 1975. This section, entitled "Confidentiality of accreditation, quality assurance credentialing materials, etc.," states:
This Court recently addressed this same issue in Ex parte Krothapalli, 762 So. 2d 836 (Ala.2000). We wrote:
762 So. 2d  at 838-39. (Emphasis supplied.)
The trial court ordered Vaughan Regional to produce all documents responsive to Request 3(i)-(k) that had been furnished to the hospital by outside sources. Based on the decision in Ex parte Krothapalli, we conclude that the trial court erred. We note, however, that Krothapalli allows the discovery of these documents from their original sources.
The facts before us, however, differ slightly from those in Krothapalli. Larrimore argues that because she has asserted a claim against Vaughan Regional alleging the negligent hiring and/or negligent credentialing of Dr. Qureshi she is entitled to receive these documents from Vaughan Regional, rather than from the original sources. Larrimore also argues that *379 § 22-21-8 is unconstitutional in that it bars her from prosecuting a claim against Vaughan Regional for the injuries she sustained as a result of the hospital's alleged negligence in hiring and/or credentialing Dr. Qureshi.
Article I, § 10, of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901 provides that "no person shall be barred from prosecuting or defending before any tribunal in this state, by himself or counsel, any civil cause to which he is a party." Likewise, Article I, § 13, provides that "all courts shall be open; and that every person, for any injury done him, in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have a remedy by due process of law; and right and justice shall be administered without sale, denial, or delay."
Virtually the same issue was addressed by the Arizona Court of Appeals in Humana Hospital Desert Valley v. Superior Court, 154 Ariz. 396, 742 P.2d 1382 (App. 1987). There, Humana Hospital was sued for negligent supervision of one of its physicians. The plaintiff, Marily Edison, sought discovery of the physician's application for staff privileges and any records reflecting the hospital's investigation into his application for staff privileges. The hospital objected to producing these documents, maintaining that Arizona's peer-review privilege protected files of its credentials committee. The trial court denied Humana and the defendant physician's motion to quash discovery of the hospital peer-review documents; Humana and the defendant physician appealed.
On appeal, Edison argued that preventing discovery of the hospital peer-review documents would effectively abrogate her claim for negligent supervision, in violation of her rights under the Arizona Constitution. The Arizona Court of Appeals rejected Edison's argument, stating:
154 Ariz. at 400, 742 P.2d  at 1386.
In construing § 22-21-8, we adopt the reasoning of the Arizona Court of Appeals. Larrimore's right to sue Vaughan Regional for the negligent hiring and/or credentialing of Dr. Qureshi has not been abrogated. Neither our decision in Krothapalli nor our holding here today prevents Larrimore from obtaining documents that originated from sources other than Vaughan Regional's credentialing committee. Indeed, from the record before us, it appears that Larrimore has already obtained portions of this outside information.
We conclude that the documents at issue in these cases are privileged, under Alabama's peer-review statute, § 22-21-8, Ala.Code 1975. Accordingly, the petition of Dr. Qureshi and Central Alabama Orthopedic, as well as the petition of Vaughan Regional Medical Center, are granted. The cross-petition of Stacy Larrimore is denied. The trial judge is directed to vacate his order requiring that Vaughan Regional provide documents responsive to Request 3(i)-(k) that were received from outside sources.
1980160PETITION GRANTED; WRIT ISSUED.
1980179VAUGHAN REGIONAL'S PETITION GRANTED AND WRIT ISSUED; STACY LARRIMORE'S CROSSPETITION DENIED.
HOOPER, C.J., and MADDOX, HOUSTON, COOK, LYONS, JOHNSTONE, and ENGLAND, JJ., concur.
SEE, J., recuses himself.
[1]  We note that Dr. Bashir's given name was spelled "Lofti" at several places in the record, including his affidavit. However, Dr. Bashir corrected the spelling of his name before executing the affidavit.