Belnap v. Howard

Chief Justice Durrant, opinion of the Court:

Introduction *357 ¶1 Rule 26(b)(1) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure establishes discovery and evidentiary privileges for statements made and documents prepared as part of a health care provider's peer review process. In this case, the parties dispute whether there is an exception to these privileges for information provided in bad faith. Dr. LeGrand P. Belnap was denied discovery as to allegedly defamatory statements made by Drs. Ben Howard and Steven Mintz in peer review meetings. These statements concerned Dr. Belnap's application for surgical…