Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CONCLUSION
For the aforementioned reasons, the Court
will deny the Government’s Motion To Dis-
miss. (D.I.9.)
An appropriate Order will be entered.
3. Plaintiff’s process is also insufficient because the Government had actual notice of this lawsuit,
the summonses fail to state the date and time the Court will permit Plaintiff to amend his sum-
each Defendant must appear and defend. See monses and serve each Defendant. See Libertad
Fed.RXiv.P. 4(a). However, because the Gov- v. Welch, 53 F.3d 428 (1st Cir.1995); James Wm.
ernment does not assert that it is prejudiced by Moore, et al., 1 Moore’s Federal Practice
the defects in Plaintiff's summonses and because § 4.30[7] (3d ed. rev.2003).
423
3. Defendant Priests claim that they did not waive 5. The Scranton District Attorney’s Office never
the privilege by disclosures to third parties for prosecuted the Defendant Priests. We are un-
the following reasons: 1) disclosure to third par- aware of the actual reason for this decision,
ties does not automatically waive the privilege; though we note that the Plaintiffs claim that it
2) the Diocese did not receive any written psy- was due to the expiration of the statute of limita-
chological reports, thus there was no disclosure tions. (PL Rep. Br. in Supp. Mot. to Compel at
to a third party; 3) they revealed their psycholog- 5.)
425
a consent to release the records to the Dio- been produced for our inspection.9 All of the
cese, and that no member of the Diocese, subject reports involve consultations by the
including Bishop Timlin, ever received any Defendant Priests with psychotherapists.
written psychological reports about either
Fr. Ensey or Fr. Urrutigoity.6 Counsel ad- The U.S. Supreme Court has recog-
mits only that Bishop Timlin received verbal nized a psychotherapist-patient privilege un-
communications about the duration and loca- der the Federal Rules of Evidence. In
tion of the Defendant Priests’ psychological
Jaffee v. Redmond, the Court held that
counseling. “confidential communications between a li-
DISCUSSION censed psychotherapist and her patients in
By our Order of December 11, 2008, we the course of diagnosis or treatment are
directed the Defendant Priests to be pre- protected from compelled disclosure under
pared to produce the records at issue during Rule 501 of the Federal Rules of Evid-
the January 27, 2004 hearing, so that we ence.”10 518 U.S. 1, 15, 116 S.Ct. 1923,
might conduct an in camera review if war- 135 L.Ed.2d 337 (1996). Thus, for the priv-
ranted. We have determined that in order ilege to attach, the communication must be
to address the issues raised in the Motion, both confidential and made in the course of
such review is necessary.7 Two of the sub- diagnosis or treatment.
ject reports were in the possession of counsel
for the Defendant Priests and were provided Despite their counsel’s claim that
to us at the hearing.8 However, one of the these evaluations were ordered by them pur-
reports is in the possession of a non-party, suant to pending or threatened criminal or
The Southdown Institute located in Ontario, civil litigation, the facts demonstrate that
Canada, a treatment facility used by the Frs. Ensey and Urrutigoity were asked to
Diocese in such circumstances, and it has not see psychotherapists by the Diocese in re-
6. There are three psychological evaluations at sent to release of his records nor did he waive
issue: 1) evaluation of Fr. Urrutigoity by Fr. the privilege. Id. at 32. See infra pp. 426-28.
Benedict J. Groeschel, Archdiocese of New York Cf. Com. v. Simmons, 719 A.2d 336, 344 (Pa.Su-
(October 26, 2001); 2) evaluation of Fr. Urruti- per.1998).
goity by Dr. Barbara Woody, The Southdown
Institute, Ontario, Canada (tests conducted 8. The reports in our possession, which we have
March 11-15, 2002, report issued March 25, reviewed in camera, are of the evaluations of Fr.
2002); 3) evaluation of Fr. Ensey by Dr. Samuel Urrutigoity conducted in October 2001 at the
Mikail, The Southdown Institute, Ontario, Cana- Archdiocese of New York and March 2002 con-
da (March 2002). As previously noted, Plaintiffs ducted at the Southdown Institute in Canada.
filed the instant civil action on March 20, 2002.
7. For example, the parties have raised the issue 9. The missing report is of the evaluation of Fr.
of the relevance and admissibility of the psycho- Ensey conducted in March 2002 at the South-
logical records. down Institute in Canada. In an attempt to
Defendants argue that the Pennsylvania Su- obtain the missing report, counsel for Defendant
preme Court's holding in Zane v. Friends Hospi- Priests has corresponded with Dr. Mikail at that
tal, 575 Pa. 236, 836 A.2d 25 (2001)[(2003)] facility. In refusing to respond, Dr. Mikail stated
prevents us from conducting an in camera review that "the law prohibits me from discussing de-
of the records, but we do not believe it applies in tails of my contact with any client without the
the present case. The Zane court addressed the client’s expressed concern. Nor am I able to
psychotherapist-patient privilege in the context confirm having seen a given client in the absence
of Pennsylvania’s Mental Health Procedures Act, of a signed consent for the release of informa-
50 P.S. § 7101 et seq. That statute "governs the tion.” (Letter of Samuel F. Mikail, Ph.D.,
provision of inpatient psychiatric treatment and C.Psych., ABPP, Clinical Director, The South-
involuntary outpatient treatment," and thus is down Institute, February 2, 2004.)
inapposite here where the Defendant Priests
were evaluated and treatment was not sought. 10. Fed.R.Evi.501 states that "in civil actions and
Id. at 33. "The purpose of the statute is to proceedings, with respect to an element of a
assure the availability of adequate treatment to claim or defense as to which State law supplies
persons who are mentally ill, and to establish the rule of decision, the privilege of a witness,
procedures to effectuate this purpose.” Id. In person, government, State, or political subdivi-
addition, unlike the present case, the party sion thereof shall be determined in accordance
whose records were sought in Zane did not con- with State law."
426
sponse to allegations of sexual misconduct.11 U.S. v. Rockwell International, 897 F.2d
This leads us to conclude that the communi- 1255, 1265 (3d Cir.1990) (citation omitted).
cations between the Defendant Priests and
their psychotherapists were made in the Under Pennsylvania law, the psychologist--
course of diagnosis. The next question we patient privilege is codified at 42 Pa.C.S.A.
must resolve is whether those communica- § 5944.13 Pennsylvania courts have held
tions were confidential, and if so, whether the that the privilege may be waived by the
confidentiality, and therefore the privilege, client, and that this may occur “where the
was waived. client places confidential information at issue
While the Court of Appeals for the Third in the case” or “where there is no longer an
Circuit has not addressed the issue of waiver expectation of privacy regarding the informa-
of the psychotherapist-patient privilege, it tion because the client has made it known to
has analyzed waiver in the context of the third persons.” Rost v. State Bd. of Psychol-
attorney-client privilege. Because the Su- ogy, 659 A.2d 626, 629 (Pa.Comwlth.Ct.1995)
preme Court has recognized that the roots of (citation omitted).14 In discussing the privi-
the psychotherapist-patient privilege and the lege, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has
attorney-client privilege are the same,12 we stated both that it is modeled after the attor-
will allow Third Circuit precedent in the area ney-client privilege, and that “codification of
of waiver of attorney-client privilege guide us the psychotherapist-client privilege is based
in our analysis.
upon a strong public policy that confidential
In Westinghouse Electric Corp. v. Repub- communications made by a client to the psy-
lic of the Philippines, the Third Circuit stat- chotherapist should be protected from disclo-
ed that “[i]t is well-settled that when a client sure, absent consent or waiver.” Common-
voluntarily discloses privileged communica-
wealth v. Simmons, 719 A.2d 336, 340
tions to a third party, the privilege is
(Pa.Super.1998). In M., M.D. v. State Board
waived.” 951 F.2d 1414, 1424 (3d Cir.1991)
(citations omitted). The court also stressed of Medicine, a Pennsylvania court held that
that “under traditional waiver doctrine, a “[a] court-ordered examination does not in-
voluntary disclosure ... to a third party voke the psychiatrist-patient privilege be-
waives the attorney-client privilege even if cause treatment is not contemplated in con-
the third party agrees not to disclose the ducting the examination.” 725 A.2d 1266,
communications to anyone else.” Id. at 1427. 1269 (Pa.Comwlth.Ct.1999). In the case at
Whether or not the communications were bar, the Defendant Priests’ employer, Bishop
actually disclosed is irrelevant: “[t]he attor- Timlin and the Diocese, ordered the psycho-
ney-client privilege does not apply to commu- logical examinations as part of the Diocese
nications that are intended to be disclosed to standard practice in investigating sexual mo-
third parties or that in fact are so disclosed.” lestation accusations.15
11. At oral argument, counsel for Defendant examined in any civil or criminal matter as to
Priests admitted that the October 2001 evalua- any information acquired in the course of his
tion of Fr. Urrutigoity was conducted at Bishop professional services in behalf of such client.
Timlin's request and that the Diocese received a The confidential relations and communications
written copy of the report. Counsel conceded between a psychologist or psychiatrist and his
that the claim of confidentiality is weaker as to client shall be on the same basis as those provid-
this evaluation in comparison to those conducted ed or prescribed by law between an attorney and
in March 2002. client.”
parties and signed by the Court. Our search of Order due to the sensitive subject matter of this
the docket reveals no such Order. If the parties case, they should do so and present a motion to
wish to stipulate to the sealing of certain docu- the Court for ratification.
ments beyond that which is provided in this