Legal Opinion
Hassan v. Mercy American River Hospital
California Supreme Court
Decided August 18, 2003No. S106256PublishedCited by 174 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion
KENNARD, J.
Civil Code section 43.81 confers a privilege on “any person” who makes a communication “to any hospital [or] hospital medical staff . . . when the communication is intended to aid in the evaluation of the qualifications, fitness, character, or insurability of a practitioner of the healing or veterinary arts.”
We must answer two related questions. First, is the statutory term “person” limited to humans, or does it also include entities? Second, is the privilege absolute or only qualified? We conclude that the privilege applies to entities, and that the privilege is qualified.…
2Cases cited37 opinions
- Waller v. Truck Insurance Exchange, Inc.California Supreme Court · 1995
- People v. OsbandCalifornia Supreme Court · 1996
- Silberg v. AndersonCalifornia Supreme Court · 1990
- Quelimane Co. v. Stewart Title Guaranty Co.California Supreme Court · 1998
- Western States Petroleum Assn. v. Superior CourtCalifornia Supreme Court · 1995
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3Cited by174 opinions
- Troyk v. Farmers Group, Inc.California Court of Appeal · 2009
- Kaufman & Broad Communities, Inc. v. Performance Plastering, Inc.California Court of Appeal · 2005
- Estate of Tucker Ex Rel. Tucker v. InterscopeCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2008
- Chavez v. City of Los AngelesCalifornia Supreme Court · 2010
- City of Hope National Medical Center v. Genentech, Inc.California Supreme Court · 2008
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