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TUMAN v. GENESIS ASSOCIATES
935 F.Supp. 1375 (1996)
United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.
April 25, 1996.
Specifically, Plaintiffs stated in their memorandum opposing the instant motions that their defamation claim arises out of: (1) statements allegedly made by Defendant Neuhausel to the West Whiteland Township Police Department in July 1992, Pls.' Mem. Opp., Ex. K; and (2) a statement allegedly made by Defendant Mansmann to a former Genesis patient named Kathy Kelly in July 1992, see K. Kelly dep. at 55-56. Defendants contend that these alleged statements are not encompassed in Count V of the Amended Complaint. They assert that Amended Complaint solely alleges that Diane made certain defamatory statements and sought to hold Defendants liable for these statements on the theory that Diane was their "mouthpiece," and is devoid of allegations that Defendants themselves made defamatory statements. For this reason, Defendants argue that they are entitled to summary judgment on this claim, citing in support Spain v. Vicente,315 Pa.Super. 135, 461 A.2d 833, 836 (1983) (holding that summary judgment on defamation claim was properly entered for defendants where complaint failed to state with particularity the content of alleged statement and to whom the statement was made). A federal court sitting in diversity applies the federal rules of civil procedure, even when enforcing the federal rule "alters the mode of enforcing state-created rights." Hanna v. Plumer,380 U.S. 460, 473, 85 S.Ct. 1136, 1145, 14 L.Ed.2d 8 (1965). "Therefore, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a), and not Pennsylvania law, provides the standard of specificity applicable to plaintiff's defamation claim." GE Capital Mortg. Serv., Inc. v. Pinnacle Mortg. Inv. Corp.,897 F.Supp. 854, 867 (E.D.Pa.1995) (finding that defamation counterclaim was sufficiently specific under the federal rules where it identified the substance of the defamatory statement, names of two individuals who received it, and department within the plaintiff's corporation where it originated from). "Under Rule 8(a), a defamation plaintiff does not have to plead the precise defamatory statements, nor must she specifically name the person who made the statements. So long as the count provides sufficient notice to defendants, it states a claim." Lynch v. Borough of Ambler, No. Civ. A. 94-6401, 1995 WL 113290, at *5-*6 (E.D.Pa. March 15, 1995) (finding that allegation that borough council officials announced that plaintiff was fired for violating environmental laws was sufficient to put defendants on notice) (citation omitted). Applying the liberal pleading requirements contemplated by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, see Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence & Coordination Unit,507 U.S. 163, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 122 L.Ed.2d 517 (1993), I find that Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint was sufficient to inform Defendant Mansmann that Plaintiffs sought to hold her liable for statements she herself uttered to other Genesis clients in group therapy sessions, such as the one she allegedly uttered to Kathy Kelly. By contrast, I find that even applying the liberal pleading requirements, the Amended Complaint was insufficient to put Defendant Neuhausel on notice that her alleged statements to police were the basis of Plaintiffs' defamation claim against her. Although most of Count V of the Amended Complaint points to Diane's statements and attributes them to Defendants (see ¶¶ 61-62 and 64)16, ¶ 63 states:
63. Defendants themselves made slanderous imputations by stating in group therapy that Daughter was the victim of incest and ritual satanic abuse and then inviting Daughter to state who had done these things at which point Daughter stated that Plaintiffs committed these acts.Thus, Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint additionally sought to hold Defendants liable for statements allegedly uttered by Defendants to other Genesis clients that Plaintiffs subjected Diane to satanic ritualistic and sexual abuse. With regard to Defendant Mansmann's alleged statement, Plaintiff Kenneth Tuman testified that he met Kathy Kelly and other former Genesis clients at a meeting of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. K. Tuman dep. at 398-99. He further testified that Kathy Kelly told him that while at a Genesis retreat "the Pats or the Genesis people" told Ms. Kelly that Plaintiffs would "come after Diane." K. Tuman dep. at 399-400. Ms. Kelly gave more specifics at her deposition, when she testified that Defendant Mansmann told her that Diane had been raised to be a high priestess in a satanic cult, Diane's parents were leaders of the cult, Diane was no longer any use to the cult because she was getting healthy, and that they would probably kill Diane. K. Kelly dep. at 55-56. This alleged statement is clearly encompassed by ¶ 63 of the Amended Complaint.
1. Plaintiffs' tort claims against Defendant Genesis Associates are based solely upon respondeat superior. 2. By motion, Defendant Mansmann also joined in Defendants Neuhausel's and Genesis Associates' motion, and incorporated all arguments made by Defendants Neuhausel and Genesis Associates as if they were her own. 3. According to the Amended Complaint, at the time of Diane's treatment, Defendant Mansmann was a licensed psychologist and Defendant Neuhausel was a licensed social worker. 4. Jurisdiction is based on diversity, as Plaintiffs are New Jersey residents and Defendants reside or have a principal place of business in Pennsylvania.
A district court sitting in diversity must apply the law of the state in which it sits to the facts of the case. Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins,304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938). The parties agrees that Pennsylvania law governs this case. 5. I dismissed with prejudice Plaintiffs' interference with filial relations claim. Id. at 189-90. I dismissed without prejudice Plaintiffs' negligence claim because they had failed to allege physical injury as is required under Pennsylvania law, and granted leave to Plaintiffs to file an amended complaint, id. at 189, which they did. 6. Plaintiffs argue that although Diane was Defendants' patient, Defendants also owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs. In my July 1995 opinion, after reviewing Pennsylvania law on professional malpractice, I predicted that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court would conclude that a therapist owes a duty of reasonable care to a patient's parent, where (1) the therapist specifically undertook to treat the child for the parents; (2) the parents relied upon the therapist; (3) the therapist was aware of the parents' reliance; and (4) it was reasonably foreseeable that the parents would be harmed by the therapist's conduct. 894 F.Supp. at 188. 7. Defendant Mansmann argues that the Tumans were on notice even earlier, when in 1990 they attended a lecture and later approached the lecturer to ask about the appropriateness of detachment therapy. K. Tuman dep. at 278-79. However, given that Diane only started therapy with Genesis in 1990, I conclude that the discussion with the lecturer in 1990 would be insufficient to put Plaintiffs on notice that they were being harmed by Genesis' treatment methods. 8. Defendants cite to this part of Kenneth Tuman's deposition as proof that the officer told them that day that Diane filed a complaint with the New Jersey state police that Plaintiffs were subjecting Diane to satanic ritualistic abuse. This is a misstatement of the deposition testimony. At p. 70, Plaintiff Kenneth Tuman states that it was not until Plaintiffs went to Denver in November 1992 that they learned for the first time that Diane was making these accusations against Plaintiffs and not third parties. Also, at p. 8 of her deposition, Plaintiff Joan Tuman states that after they returned from Denver in November 1992, they contacted the New Jersey state police and gave them a written account of the events of July 1992 leading up to Diane's disappearance; they did this because the information they received in Colorado led them to believe that they were under investigation by the New Jersey state police. See also J. Tuman dep. at 386. 9. Plaintiffs' breach of contract claim, by contrast, is premised on Plaintiffs' allegation that Defendants provided substandard care to Diane and that this constituted a breach warranting contract damages. 10. Plaintiffs also contend that Defendants should not be allowed to argue that Plaintiffs' expert testimony is inadmissible on the grounds that the expert did not consult Diane's treatment notes, because Plaintiffs demanded the treatment notes during discovery but Defendants refused to produce them, improperly claiming that they were privileged.
Fed.R.Civ.P. 37 instructs a party to move the court to compel disclosure in the event that s/he believes an opposing party is improperly withholding discovery. I note that Plaintiffs failed to file such a motion to compel during the discovery phase of this case, which ended on Feb. 15, 1996. For this reason, I do not consider this argument by Plaintiffs in my analysis. 11. As Defendants correctly observe, Pennsylvania does not recognize a cause of action for loss of filial relations, and this Court previously dismissed Plaintiffs' claim for loss of filial relations in its July 1995 opinion. 894 F.Supp. at 189-90. 12. Defendants argue that Plaintiffs should not be permitted to pursue their breach of contract claim against Defendants because this case does not fall within the two narrow exceptions recognized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to the general rule that a non-client cannot sue a professional for malpractice. See DiMarco v. Lynch Homes-Chester County, Inc.,525 Pa. 558, 583 A.2d 422 (1990) (holding that a third-person in class of persons whose health is likely to be threatened by patient with communicable disease has tort cause of action against treating physician for giving patient erroneous advice about the risk of spreading the disease) and Guy v. Liederbach,501 Pa. 47, 459 A.2d 744 (1983) (holding that named beneficiaries in will can sue attorney who drafted will for decedent in assumpsit for improperly drafting instrument). See also Lindgren v. Moore,907 F.Supp. 1183, 1187-89 (N.D.Ill.1995) (holding that father and siblings of patient could not sue in tort on allegations of false memory implantation because plaintiffs did not have a "special relationship" with patient as is required under Illinois law).
Plaintiffs allege that they directly contracted with Defendants to treat Diane; they do not argue that they were intended beneficiaries of a contract between Diane and Defendants as was the case in Guy v. Liederbach. For that reason, Guy is not helpful on the issue of whether the parties in the instant action formed a contract and thus have a cause of action for breach. DiMarco and Lindgren also are not instructive on the contract formation question in the instant action, because those cases were solely negligence actions in which the courts were trying to determine if a practitioner owed a duty of care to a non-patient third party. 13. In response to Defendant Mansmann's contention that there is no evidence of a contract between herself and Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs simply respond that Mansmann, as the Genesis psychologist, was "responsible for the acts of employees working under her" and that "she submitted bills under her name." Pls.' Mem.Opp. at 25. Plaintiffs, however, fail to point to any deposition testimony or other evidence in the record to support the claim that Defendant Mansmann was Defendant Neuhausel's employer or supervisor. Moreover, in a later submission, Plaintiffs completely reversed their argument, and stated that Defendant Mansmann was not Defendant Neuhausel's supervisor. Pls.' Post-Argument Mem. at 17. Finally, I note that Plaintiffs have not submitted any bills from Defendant Mansmann with their opposition papers, nor have the pointed to testimony by Plaintiffs that they received such bills. 14. I noted a significant difference between this case and the fact-scenario presented in cases such as Sherman. In this case, Plaintiffs' contract claim is not based on allegations that Defendants failed to provide Plaintiffs with reasonable care; instead, Plaintiffs claim that Defendants breached a contract between Plaintiffs and Defendants by failing to provide Diane with adequate care. Id. at 186.
I further note that this case is distinguishable because Plaintiffs' negligence claim seeks to recover for alleged injuries suffered by Plaintiffs on the theory that Defendants breached a duty of care that they directly owed to Plaintiffs; Plaintiffs do not seek a tort remedy for injuries incurred by Diane for any alleged breach by Defendants of the professional duty of care they owed to Diane. 15. The First Count of the Amended Complaint states in pertinent part:
14. Plaintiffs performed their obligations under said contract by paying Defendants monies in excess of five thousand dollars. * * * * * * 19. As a result of the conduct of Defendants described hereinabove, Plaintiffs have suffered monetary damages in excess of five thousand dollars and have been caused to suffer emotional and mental pain, discomfort and anguish and will continue to suffer same for an indefinite period in the future. 16. Plaintiffs have acknowledged that they are no longer seeking to hold Defendants liable for statements uttered by Diane. Pls.' Mem.Opp. at 14. 17. According to a July 7, 1992 report, Defendant Neuhausel told police that Diane had been groomed by a cult in Mount Holly, N.J. since she was about two years old to become a high priest. In a report dated July 29, 1992, Neuhausel is reported to have said that she received a phone message from Diane that Diane was back at her parents' home in New Jersey, and that Neuhausel believed Diane was in serious danger and had been taken back to New Jersey against her will. Pls.' Mem.Opp., Ex. K. 18. The statute provides:
(a) Burden of plaintiff. — In an action for defamation, the plaintiff has the burden of proving, when the issue is properly raised: (1) The defamatory character of the communication. (2) Its publication by the defendant. (3) Its application to the plaintiff. (4) The understanding by the recipient of its defamatory meaning. (5) The understanding by the recipient of it as intended to be applied to the plaintiff. (6) Special harm resulting to the plaintiff from its publication. (7) Abuse of a conditionally privileged occasion. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8343(a) (West 1982) (emphasis added). 19. Plaintiffs testified that they have experienced a number of physical injuries stemming from their emotional distress, including depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, weight gain, hypertension, and sexual dysfunction. K. Tuman dep. at 414-18, 434-35, 442-43, 446-47; J. Tuman dep. at 261-62, 276-77, 284, 327, 332. 20. Plaintiffs assert that the Court should not enter judgment for Defendants on this claim, because Plaintiffs provided medical releases to Defendants but Defendants failed to subpoena these records. This argument is irrelevant. Once Defendants established that there was no expert medical confirmation of Plaintiffs' alleged injuries in the record, it became Plaintiffs' burden to produce that expert medical evidence to defeat the motion for summary judgment on this claim. 21. To make out a claim for intentional misrepresentation, Plaintiffs must demonstrate: (1) a representation; (2) which is material to the transaction at hand; (3) made falsely, with knowledge of its falsity or recklessness as to whether it is true or false; (4) with the intent of misleading another into relying on it; (5) justifiable reliance on the misrepresentation; and (6) the resulting injury was proximately caused by the reliance. Gibbs v. Ernst,538 Pa. 193, 647 A.2d 882, 889 (1994) (citations omitted).
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