A Cobb County Superior Court judge has dismissed a libel claim in which a physician alleged that investigative television news coverage of the deaths of several of her cosmetic surgery patients led to the suspension of her license.
Judge S. Lark Ingram concluded that the case was a SLAPP suit and that it met the criteria under Georgia’s anti-SLAPP statute for early disposition of First Amendment cases. The complaint had been lodged against CBS46 News, its reporter Adam Murphy, and WSB-TV.
The plaintiff, Nedra Dodds, operated a cosmetic surgery clinic in Kennesaw, Georgia. In February 2014, her license was suspended by the Georgia Composite Medical Board, which cited the particulars of her treatment of several patients. One patient, Erica Jenkins, died following a liposuction procedure during which her liver and diaphragm were lacerated. According to an account given to police by an employee present during the procedure, when the patient protested that she was in pain, Dodds told her to “be quiet” and that she had “paid for the procedure.” It was also noted that “a rag was placed in Jenkins’ mouth” to quiet her.
Another case involved a woman who wanted silicone removed from her buttocks, as well as liposuction. Heart failure from excessive bleeding ultimately was the cause of death as a result of Dodds suturing only two of the patient’s nine surgical incisions. The board concluded that care given to the patient before, during and after surgery was all “significantly below” the acceptable standard of care and led to her death.
In her complaint, Dodds went so far as to allege that reporter Adam Murphy "pressured" the Board to suspend Dodds' medical license, and allege that "had it not been due to [Murphy's] involvement there in fact would have been no suspension of the Plaintiff s license."
Georgia’s anti-SLAPP statute was designed to protect citizens who participate in matters of public significance through the exercise of their constitutional rights of freedom of speech and the right to petition government for redress of grievances from the abuse of the judicial process.
In order to protect this purpose, the statute provides an early disposition mechanism for First Amendment cases. The statute includes verification requirements in which plaintiffs must affirm that their claim does not arise “from an act" by any person or entity that "could reasonably be construed as an act in furtherance of the right of free speech or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances ... in connection with an issue of public interest or concern" O.C.G.A. § 9-11-11.l (b).
No verifications were filed in this case, so the only question for the court was whether the case stemmed from an act covered by the anti-SLAPP statute.
Citing well-established case law, the judge noted that acts covered by the anti-SLAPP statute include any statement “made in connection with an issueunder consideration by an official proceeding” ( “commenting speech”) or “made to any official proceeding authorized by law” ( “petitioning speech”). The Court held that CBS46 News' investigative news reports met both alternative definitions.
Specifically, the court concluded that the reports fell within the ambit of “commenting speech” in that “the investigative news series was made ‘in connection’ with various official proceedings, including (1) the police investigation into the deaths of Dodds' patients, (2) the medical examiner's investigation into those deaths (3) the civil lawsuits brought against Dodds, (4) the many complaints to the Board, and (5) the Board's actions against Dodds.
The court also concluded that the reports met the requirements of “petitioning speech,” noting that the Plaintiff’s own allegations, “—that reporter Murphy successfully pressured the Board into suspending her medical license – conclusively establish that the statements she challenges fall within the anti-SLAPP statute's definition of protected activity.”
Plaintiff was represented by Frank J. Marquez of Frank Marquez P.C.. Cynthia Counts of Counts Law Group represented Defendants CBS News 46 and Adam Murphy. Tom Clyde and Lesli Gaither of Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton LLP represented Defendant WSB-TV.