Indiana Court of Appeals Applies McKenzie in Allowing Invasion of Privacy Claim for Public Disclosure of Private Facts to Proceed
In our last blog, we wrote about the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year in Cmty. Health Network, Inc. v. McKenzie in which the Court recognized a tort claim for invasion of privacy based on the public disclosure of private facts. In the recent case of Z.D. v. Cmty. Health Network, Inc., the Indiana Court of Appeals, relying on McKenzie, allowed a public-disclosure-of-private-facts claim to proceed, as well as a negligence claim for pecuniary damages arising from a breach of medical confidentiality and privacy. In Z.D., Z.D., the patient/plaintiff, received treatment at a Community Health Network (Community) facility. After attempts were made to contact Z.D. by phone, an employee of Community wrote Z.D. a formal letter with her test results and proposed treatment. However, the employee addressed the envelope and mailed the letter to a third person, Jonae Kendrick (Kendrick), who was a classmate of Z.D.’s high-school-aged daughter. Kendrick posted the letter on Facebook where it was seen by multiple third parties.
Z.D. filed a lawsuit against Community for the “distribut[ion] [of her] extremely sensitive and private health information to unauthorized person(s) and the general public.” After the letter was posted to Facebook with Z.D.’s diagnosis, Z.D.’s fiancé broke up with her and “kicked her out of his house,” resulting in Z.D. having to rent her own apartment, Z.D.’s co-workers and supervisor at her warehouse job found out about Z.D.’s diagnosis, ultimately resulting in Z.D. leaving that job, Z.D. lost several hairdressing clients whose children attended high school with her daughter, and Z.D. suffered from depression and underwent counseling. In her lawsuit, Z.D. sought damages for loss of privacy, lost income, rent expenses, and emotional and mental distress.
Community filed a motion for summary judgment arguing Kendrick’s posting of the letter on Facebook was an unforeseeable criminal act that broke the chain of causation, Z.D. could not recover emotional distress damages under a negligence theory, and any claim for public disclosure of private facts fails because such is not recognized in Indiana (this was pre-McKenzie). The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Community. The Court found the modified impact rule and the bystander rule barred Z.D.’s claim for emotional distress damages under a negligence theory, Z.D. could not recover damages for loss of privacy because she had not specifically pled an invasion of privacy claim, and Community’s actions were not the proximate cause of her damages.