Sovereign Healthcare of Port St. Lucie, LLC v. Fernandes
132 So. 3d 855
| Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | 2013Background
- Natalie Fernandes sued Sovereign Healthcare (Tiffany Hall) for negligence/wrongful death after her husband Joseph Fernandes died while a resident.
- Sovereign is a licensed skilled nursing facility under Chapter 400.
- Respondent served interrogatories seeking names and contact information of all facility residents at the time of Mr. Fernandes’s death to identify potential witnesses.
- Petitioner objected as overbroad, burdensome, irrelevant, and violative of residents’ statutory and constitutional privacy rights.
- The trial court granted the motion to compel production of resident identities but ordered the disclosure be used only for preparation/prosecution of the lawsuit and kept confidential.
- Petitioner sought certiorari, arguing irreparable harm from disclosure of nonparty residents’ personal information and statutory/constitutional privacy violations; the petition was denied.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether disclosure of nonparty residents’ identities is protected by Florida constitutional/statutory privacy so as to bar discovery | Respondent argued identities are discoverable as potential witnesses relevant to the claim | Petitioner argued disclosure would violate residents’ privacy rights under Art. I, § 23 and § 400.022 and cause irreparable harm absent compelling need | Disclosure of identities is discoverable; trial court did not depart from essential requirements of law |
| Whether petitioner preserved privacy-based constitutional/statutory objection for certiorari review | N/A (respondent sought discovery) | Petitioner claimed privacy grounds justify immediate certiorari relief | Petitioner failed to preserve the specific constitutional/statutory privacy argument in the trial court; waiver of that ground |
| Whether the discovery order departs from essential requirements of law such that certiorari relief is warranted | N/A | Petitioner argued the order unlawfully compelled disclosure of protected personal info | The order complied with Rule 1.280(b)(1) scope of discovery; consistent with precedent denying certiorari in similar contexts |
| Whether irreparable harm exists to support certiorari jurisdiction | N/A | Petitioner asserted disclosure of nonparty names/contacts is irreparable harm | Court found irreparable-harm jurisdictional basis established but denied relief on merits and preservation grounds |
Key Cases Cited
- Allstate Ins. Co. v. Total Rehab. & Med. Ctrs., 123 So.3d 1162 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013) (certiorari standard requires irreparable harm and departure from essential requirements of law)
- Columbia Hosp. Corp. of S. Broward v. Fain, 16 So.3d 236 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (disclosure of nonparty names/addresses can constitute irreparable harm)
- Natural Solutions Corp. v. Terrabind Int’l, Inc., 840 So.2d 387 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003) (issues not raised below are not preserved for appellate certiorari review)
- Dist. Bd. of Trs. of Miami-Dade Cmty. Coll. v. Chao, 739 So.2d 105 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999) (identity and location of witnesses are discoverable)
- Amente v. Newman, 653 So.2d 1030 (Fla. 1995) (relevancy in discovery is broader than at trial)
- Miller v. Savanna Maintenance Ass’n, 979 So.2d 1235 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) (denial of certiorari to quash order compelling nonparty identifying information)
- Delta Health Group, Inc. v. Estate of Collins, 36 So.3d 711 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010) (similar denial of certiorari for compelled disclosure of nonparty witness identities)