HCA Health Services of Virginia, Inc. v. Levin

SENIOR JUSTICE COMPTON

delivered the opinion of the Court.

In these appeals of a contempt order arising from a defamation action, we consider the scope and application of the statutory privilege from disclosure accorded peer review records possessed by certain medical organizations.

In 1998, Stephen M. Levin, M.D., filed an action for damages against, among others, WJLA-TV, a television station that broadcasts in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, which includes Northern Virginia and Maryland. In a second amended motion for judgment, the plaintiff, who practices medicine in Northern…