Opinion ID: 1820021
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Information Regarding the Disposition of the 19 Other Fetuses

Text: The trial court, as previously noted, acknowledged that it was very concerned about the privacy interests of the parents of those 19 children, and has struggled mightily on this issue. [9] Such is also the case with this Court. In balancing the Westinghouse factors, we recognize that the logbooks of the morgue and the department of pathology and the medical and billing records of the 19 other fetuses and their parents and guardians concerning the disposition of the 19 other fetuses after delivery contain extremely sensitive medical information. We also recognize that because of the extremely sensitive nature of the requested information, the potential for harm in any subsequent nonconsensual disclosure of the information is great. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 638 F.2d at 578. However, we must balance this factor, the type of record requested, and the information [the record] does or might contain with the other Westinghouse factors, while also considering the general discoverability of the information under Rule 26, Ala. R. Civ. P. Id. We first note that the unique and egregious nature of the assertions of fraud in this case create a recognizable public interest militating toward access because the actions that form the basis of the assertions are so offensive to the morals and dignity of society. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 638 F.2d at 578. That there is such a public interest is further bolstered by the fact that the rights of privacy the hospital seeks to protect on behalf of the patients, namely, to keep from the patients knowledge of how their fetuses were treated, involve no risk of a chilling effect on a patient's willingness to communicate his or her wishes for the disposition of a fetus to a physician. Thus, the Westinghouse factor of whether an injury from disclosure to the relationship in which the record was generated will occur does not weigh in favor of protecting the requested information. Id. We must also consider the Wadleys' degree of need for access to information regarding the disposition of the 19 other fetuses after delivery in light of the Wadleys' fraud and fraudulent-suppression allegations. [10] Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 638 F.2d at 578. As noted above, the Wadleys' fraud and suppression counts allege that St. Vincent's had a pattern and practice of not timely cremating such fetuses and holding them in its morgue for unreasonable periods, contrary to alleged representations as to the timing of such activity. The Wadleys contend that the discovery requests are proper because, they say, the requests are carefully tailored to their fraud and suppression claims. The Wadleys assert that the communications and agreements between St. Vincent's and the parents and guardians of the 19 other fetuses relating to testing and cremation issues is critically necessary to their case and likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. The Wadleys specifically contend that whether St. Vincent's told the parents and guardians of the 19 other fetuses that the fetuses would be stored in the morgue for months and possibly years before they were cremated is relevant to their fraud and fraudulent-suppression claims. St. Vincent's contends that the responses to the requests for production and the answers to the interrogatories cannot possibly support the Wadleys' fraud claims because, it says, there is no evidence indicating (1) that anyone with authority to bind St. Vincent's made any representations to the Wadleys or (2) that the Wadleys relied on any representations made by a party to the case in deciding to request cremation of the fetus. Reply brief at p. 11. St. Vincent's further contends that the Wadleys failed to allege that St. Vincent's did anything to convince or to persuade them to leave the fetus's remains for cremation. Thus, St. Vincent's argues that the information at issue is patently irrelevant to this case. However, at this stage of the proceeding, where we have before us only the allegations of the complaint, St. Vincent's has no clear legal right to a determination that the trial court exceeded its discretion in allowing discovery, thereby cutting off a plaintiff's right to discovery based on a defendant's contentions as to the absence of evidence. We also note that St. Vincent's argues that [t]he non-party medical records which St. Vincent's has been ordered to produce likely contain little or no detailed information regarding any conversations between the healthcare providers and the non-parties concerning the disposition of their fetal remains. Reply brief at p. 4 (emphasis added). However, St. Vincent's assertion that the compelled discovery is unlikely to provide relevant information is not dispositive of the Wadleys' right to discover the information. Discovery matters are within a trial court's sound discretion, and this Court will grant a petition for a writ of mandamus curtailing a discovery order only if the trial court clearly exceeded its discretion in issuing the order. Ex parte Ocwen Fed. Bank, 872 So.2d at 813. We conclude that the information contained in the logbooks of the morgue and pathology department and records of the 19 other fetuses and their parents and guardians regarding the disposition of the fetuses after delivery falls within an exception to a patient's right to confidentiality because of the supervening societal interest, recognized in Mack, in knowledge of a hospital's practices regarding the disposition of fetuses after delivery and the availability of avenues of discovery in a fraud case based on such activities. In light of the discretion granted to a trial court regarding discovery matters and the wide latitude allowed for discovery when fraud is alleged, we further conclude that the trial court did not exceed its discretion in denying St. Vincent's motion for a protective order regarding the logbooks and records, to the extent that those records relate to the disposition of the 19 other fetuses, because those records may assist the Wadleys in proving their fraud and fraudulent-suppression claims. Ex parte Allstate Ins. Co., 401 So.2d 749, 751 (Ala. 1981) (Evidence of similar misrepresentations made to others by the defendant is admissible in a fraud action.... Therefore, the information sought ... could very easily lead to admissible evidence.). We thus conclude that the trial court did not exceed its discretion in denying St. Vincent's motion for a protective order that would have precluded production of records and responses to interrogatories, which include (1) the logbooks for St. Vincent's morgue and department of pathology without redaction of identifying information, (2) the names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of delivery, and dates of death of all the fetuses that were to be cremated and were stored in St. Vincent's morgue for more than seven days from January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2003, (3) the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the parents and guardians of the fetuses that were to be cremated and that were stored in St. Vincent's morgue for more than seven days from January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2003, (4) the medical and billing records of the 19 other fetuses to the extent the records concern the disposition of the fetuses, and (5) the medical records of the mothers of the 19 other fetuses to the extent the records concern the disposition of the fetuses. We invite the trial court to consider using a neutral intermediary, such as the trial court itself, a court official, or other appropriate person, to notify, to the extent practicable, the persons named in the records of the pendency of this action, of the order of the trial court compelling disclosure, and of the action of this Court, preliminary to producing these records for the Wadleys. The Court makes this suggestion solely for the humane purpose of giving the persons named in the records an opportunity to be apprised of the extremely sensitive facts underlying the litigation and the fact of the impending production of the records before those persons are contacted by the Wadleys in pursuit of further discovery.