Wheeless v. Maria Parham Med. Ctr., Inc. (Summary)

PEER REVIEW PRIVILEGE

Wheeless v. Maria Parham Med. Ctr., Inc.
No. COA13-1063 (N.C. Ct. App. July 1, 2014)

An orthopedic surgeon (“Physician”) filed a lawsuit against a hospital (“Hospital”) alleging unfair and deceptive trade practices, breach of contract, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Prior to filing the complaint, the Physician had complained that the Hospital had failed to honor a Settlement Agreement, in particular, that the Hospital had refused to call the Physician for consults when he was requested by his patients.

Several of the Physician’s claims did not survive summary judgment, but others progressed to discovery. A dispute arose when the Physician attempted to use the discovery process to obtain documents related to an earlier peer review process that had led to the Settlement Agreement. The Hospital argued that the documents were privileged under the state peer review statute. The Physician contended that the privilege did not apply because the peer review process had been used maliciously.

The Physician’s first two attempts to compel production of the peer review documents were unsuccessful: two separate judges upheld the Hospital’s claim of a peer review privilege. However, a third judge concluded that there was evidence of malice and compelled the Hospital to produce documents that had previously been determined to be privileged.

The Hospital appealed. The appellate court reversed, concluding that the third judge did not adequately demonstrate that circumstances had changed enough to give her authority to overrule decisions by the prior judges.