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Ryder v. Mitchell9/16/2002
n making any public report or recommendation based on an opinion she formed while treating the children. Therefore, the court concluded that a genuine issue of fact remained as to whether the defendant negligently formulated and published the opinions expressed in the letter.
Revisiting the issue in an Order dated February 17, 1999, a different trial judge granted the defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment in its entirety, dismissing the case with prejudice. That court found that, under Colorado law, the defendant owed no duty to the plaintiff which would allow her to bring negligence claims. The court acknowledged the holding in Montoya, however, relying on Card v. Blakeslee, 937 P.2d 846, 850 (Colo. App. 1996), the court held that the letter the defendant sent to the plaintiff, and on which she copied Mitchell, did not constitute the kind of "public report or recommendation" that would trigger the duty announced in Montoya. Finally, the court noted that the letter did not accuse the plaintiff of sexually abusing the children or committing any other criminal offense.
Subsequently, after an evidentiary hearing, the trial judge also granted the defendant's Motion for Attorney's Fees. The court concluded that the plaintiff's claims in this case were substantially groundless, frivolous, and vexatious, both legally and factually.
The plaintiff appealed the entry of summary judgment on her negligence claims and both plaintiff and her attorney appealed the trial court's award of costs. The court of appeals reversed the trial court's orders and remanded the case. Mitchell v. Ryder, 20 P.3d 1229, 1234 (Colo. App. 2000). Noting that the question of whether a defendant owes a plaintiff a duty is a question of law that is reviewed de novo, it concluded that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty to use due care in formulating and publishing her opinion that the plaintiff's actions resulted in parental alienation. Id. at 1231-32. In considering the factors involved in determining whether the law should impose a duty, the court of appeals reasoned: the risk of injury to a custodial parent who is falsely accused of parental alienation is significant and foreseeable; the risk of triggering or affecting custody litigation is immediately apparent; and the burden to exercise due care placed upon the therapist in this context is no greater than the duty that almost all mental health professionals are already required to meet, and thus is not significant. Id. at 1232. It further held that publishing a public report or adverse recommendation "includes publishing material to someone who is likely to and does in fact take adverse action against the person who is the subject of the publication." Id. at 1233. It also determined that the duty in Montoya was not limited to child abuse but encompassed the publication of any opinion likely to cause injury to the person described if the opinion is negligently formulated. Id. The court of appeals also reversed the trial court's award of attorney fees and costs. Id. at 1234.
The defendant sought and we granted certiorari from the court of appeals' judgment. We now consider the issue of whether the defendant in this case owed a duty of care to the plaintiff.
II. Standard of Review
A.
Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings and supporting documents demonstrate that no genuine issue as to any material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Martini v. Smith, 42 P.3d 629, 632 (Colo. 2002) (citing Vail/Arrowhead, Inc. v. Dist. Ct., 954 P.2d 608, 611 (Colo. 1998)). An appellate court's review of a trial court's order granting or denying a motion for su
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