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Jeffrey H. v. IMAI12/8/2000
As modified January 3, 2001. There is no change in the judgment.
JEFFREY H.,
PLAINTIFF AND APPELLANT,
V.
IMAI, TADLOCK & KEENEY ET AL.,
DEFENDANTS AND RESPONDENTS.
(San Francisco County Super. Ct. No. 994786)
For Plaintiff and Appellant Jeffrey H. For Defendants and Respondents Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney Timothy J. Halloran, Esq. Aaron K. McClellan, Esq.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: Swager, J.
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
In this pro per appeal, Jeffrey H. appeals a judgment dismissing his complaint against the law firm, Imai, Tadlock & Keeney, two attorneys in the firm, Robert Keeney and Mark Misaghi, and a secretary in the firm, Heather Hutchison (hereafter collectively the respondent law firm), which was entered on an order sustaining the respondent law firm's demurrer to the first amended complaint. We reverse the judgment dismissing the cause of action for invasion of privacy and affirm the judgment as to all remaining causes of action.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
The first amended complaint alleges a detailed statement of facts followed by a statement of legal grounds for claims against the respondent law firm, a legal services firm, and three related health care providers, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Inc., The Permanente Medical Group, Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (hereafter collectively Kaiser Foundation Hospital). Insofar as it relates to the respondent law firm, we read the first amended complaint as attempting to state a cause of action for invasion of privacy under California Constitution, article I, section 1, a statutory cause of action under Health and Safety Code section 120980, and causes of action for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The first amended complaint alleges that appellant was injured on August 23, 1995, when his vehicle was struck in the rear by a leased vehicle. He filed a suit for personal injuries in San Francisco Superior Court against the driver of the other vehicle and the company that leased it. The defendants in that case were represented by the respondent law firm.
On November 25, 1996, the respondent law firm issued a subpoena for medical records from Kaiser Foundation Hospital and hired a copying service, Major Legal Services, to obtain copies of the medical records. Appellant's hospital records were subsequently copied and delivered to the respondent law firm. Among the records delivered to the firm were several documents, marked at the bottom "CONFIDENTIAL: Do Not Copy Without Specific Authorized Consent," which disclosed the results of appellant's HIV tests. Appellant alleges on information and belief that the contents of the records were disclosed to the employees and members of the respondent law firm and their clients in the personal injury suit.
The personal injury action was referred to arbitration under circumstances not revealed by the record. On May 1, 1997, appellant received a "Supplemental Notice of Intention to Introduce Evidence at Arbitration Hearing Pursuant to California Rules of Court(Rule 1613" (hereafter Supplemental Notice) to which was attached those medical records from Kaiser Foundation Hospital that the respondent law firm proposed to offer into evidence in the arbitration. Upon inspection of these medical records, appellant discovered confidential documents disclosing the results of HIV tests that he had taken at Kaiser Foundation Hospital.
On November 10, 1997, appellant wrote a letter to a me
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