Larson v. Decatur Memorial Hospital

Plaintiff, Melody Larson, an employee of Decatur Memorial Hospital (DMH), brought a defamation action against DMH and James Scherer, a vice-president at DMH. Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that Scherer’s statements were protected against a defamation action by a qualified privilege because he made them during an internal investigation of the conduct of one of DMH’s employees. The trial court granted the motion, and plaintiff appeals.

We affirm.

I. Background

On September 10, 1990, Linda Pieszala, assistant (and acting) director of personnel at DMH, told Scherer, the…