Opinion ID: 1159687
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Odom Stated a Claim for Defamation.

Text: A prima facie case of defamation requires the plaintiff to establish (1) a false and defamatory statement; (2) an unprivileged publication to a third party; (3) fault amounting at least to negligence on the part of the publisher; and (4) the existence of either `per se' actionability or special harm. French v. Jadon, Inc., 911 P.2d 20, 32 (Alaska 1996). For a statement to be libel per se, the words used must be so unambiguous as to be reasonably susceptible of only one interpretationthat is, one which has a natural tendency to injure another's reputation. Fairbanks Publ'g Co. v. Pitka, 376 P.2d 190, 194 (Alaska 1962). Included in Odom's allegations of defamatory conduct is a claim that FMH defamed Odom in its reporting of the disciplinary action to the federally mandated National Practitioner Data Bank (Data Bank), a report FMH is required to make. Although a health care entity that is complying with the federal reporting requirement, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 11133(a)(1), is afforded a certain amount of immunity in reporting to the Data Bank, that immunity is limited. 42 U.S.C. § 11137(c) provides that No person or entity ... shall be held liable in any civil action with respect to any report made under this subchapter ... without knowledge of the falsity of the information contained in the report. FMH, therefore, is immune from liability unless it had knowledge that the report was false. In our view falsity in this statute refers to a false report of the nature of or the stated reasons for the actions of a health care entity. Thus in Brown v. Presbyterian Healthcare Services, 101 F.3d 1324, 1334 (10th Cir.1996), a report was made to the Data Bank that Brown's obstetrical privileges had been suspended for the coded reasons Incompetence/Malpractice/Negligence. But the reason stated by the health care provider in the suspension order was that Brown had failed to abide by an agreement to consult in handling certain types of cases. Since the stated reason relied on by the health care provider did not necessarily match the stated reason reported to the Data Bank, the court concluded that a jury question was presented as to whether the report to the Data Bank was false and whether the defendant who had made the report knew it to be so. That is not the situation here where the complaint and exhibits attached to the complaint demonstrate the facial truth of the report to the Data Bankthat Odom was suspended for stated reasons expressed by FMH that fairly fell within the coded reasons. The statutory privilege would be meaningless if it meant that one who accurately reported the stated reasons for a health care provider's action would nonetheless have to defend the underlying validity of the stated reasons. Thus, to the extent that Odom's claim is based on the assertion that the stated reasons relied on by the health care provider were not those reported to the Data Bank, Odom's claim was properly dismissed. However, Odom's defamation claim asserts many communications other than the falsity of the stated reasons reported to the Data Bank. To the extent that it does so it alleges a prima facie case of defamation. Paragraphs 3, 5, 9, 50, and 146-150 of Odom's complaint allege a prima facie case of defamation.