In re Matter Under Investigation — Nov. 2015 (Summary)

In re Matter Under Investigation
No. 15-509 (La. Ct. App. Nov. 4, 2015)

A nurse anesthetist applied for privileges at a hospital and as a part of the process was required to submit references. Peer review references are to be confidential according to statute. After the applicant was denied privileges at the hospital, he sought to obtain a review letter from a reference at the anesthesia program where he attended school. The applicant thought he received a bad reference after being involved in a lawsuit against the school. He was denied access to the letter, as the peer references were deemed confidential under the state’s peer review statute. He then filed a complaint with the sheriff’s office for criminal defamation.

The sheriff’s office sought a search warrant to obtain the letter. A temporary judge granted the search warrant but placed the seized documents under seal based on his own concerns about the legality of the warrant. When the regular trial judge returned, he held a hearing and granted the hospital’s motion to quash the warrant and ordered that the letter be returned to the hospital.

The sheriff’s office appealed, but the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s holding that the letter be returned, as the information sought was clearly protected by law.