Hoffman v. Brookfield Republic, Inc.

Summary

The Colorado Supreme Court reviewed a district court order compelling a personal-injury plaintiff to disclose extensive mental-health records. The court held that generic claims for pain, suffering, and emotional distress incident to physical injuries do not inject a plaintiff's mental condition into the case or impliedly waive the psychotherapist-patient privilege. The court made the rule to show cause absolute and reversed the discovery order.

Holdings

1. The Supreme Court may review the district court's order in an original proceeding under C.A.R. 21 because disclosure of allegedly privileged records would cause harm that could not be remedied through an appeal after final judgment.
2. A plaintiff does not impliedly waive the psychotherapist-patient privilege merely by seeking damages for generic mental suffering, pain and suffering, or emotional distress that is incidental to physical injuries and does not exceed the suffering an ordinary person would likely experience in similar circumstances.
3. Providing detailed interrogatory and deposition descriptions of emotional distress does not, by itself, transform a generic emotional-distress claim into an implied waiver of the psychotherapist-patient privilege.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Colorado Supreme Court had original jurisdiction under C.A.R. 21 to review the district court's discovery order compelling disclosure of allegedly privileged mental-health records.
2. Whether a personal-injury plaintiff impliedly waives the psychotherapist-patient privilege by making a generic claim for pain and suffering and emotional distress incident to physical injuries.
3. Whether detailed descriptions of ordinary emotional distress in interrogatory responses and deposition testimony transform a generic emotional-distress claim into an injection of the plaintiff's mental condition sufficient to waive the privilege.

Disposition

writ_granted