Federal Court Denies Motion to Compel Production of Peer Review Documents Based on State Law Privilege
Dec 08, 2016OUTCOME: Motion to Compel Denied
The family of a deceased Michigan Department of Corrections inmate sued several corrections officers and medical providers alleging that these defendants failed to provide adequate treatment for the in ... mate’s asthma. During the discovery phase of the case, Plaintiff requested that the Defendants produce copies of any investigations or reviews created in connection with the inmate’s death. We objected on behalf of the medical providers based on Michigan’s peer review privilege. and Plaintiff filed a Motion to Compel, arguing that a state law privilege did not apply in federal court. The Court denied Plaintiff’s motion, opining that the 6th Circuit has applied Michigan’s state law privilege broadly. See Lloyd v. Saint Joseph Mercy Oakland, 766 F.3d 580 (6th Cir. 2014). As a result of the 6th Circuit’s decision in Lloyd, the federal district court had no choice but to deny Plaintiff’s motion.
