DEBORAH MYERS, Plaintiff, v. ST. LOUIS FIRE DEPARTMENT, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 1422-CC01250 Division No. 2 MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT COMES NOW Defendant City of St. Louis Fire Department (“Fire Department”) and for its Motion for Summary Judgment against Deborah Myers (“Plaintiff”) states as follows: 1. On January 14, 2014, plaintiff requested from Fire Department copies of all records for any calls for service to the Planned Parenthood facility located at 4251 Forest Park Avenue, Saint Louis, Missouri 63108, on certain specific dates, together with the 911 calls relating to any of the incidents. 2. The Missouri Sunshine Law exempts the disclosure of records that are otherwise protected from disclosure by law. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.021(14). 3. The documents requested by Plaintiff contain Fire Department Emergency Medical Service (EMS) patients’ individually identifiable health information, which is protected from disclosure under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. Title 45 C.F.R. § 164.502. 4. In addition to its duties under HIPAA, the Fire Department also owes a fiduciary duty to patients not to disclose confidential health information without a valid authorization from the patient. See also Brandt v. Medical Defense Associates, 856 S.W.2d 667, 674 (Mo. 1 Electronically Filed - City of St. Louis - January 12, 2015 - 11:50 AM MISSOURI CIRCUIT COURT TWENTY-SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT (CITY OF ST. LOUIS) 1997). 5. The Fire Department also is barred from releasing recordings of 911 calls relating to calls for service to Planned Parenthood because Missouri law makes information acquired via “911” inaccessible to the general public. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.150; See also Wade v. State, 386 S.W.3d 201, 202 (Mo. App. E.D. 2012). 6. The Missouri Sunshine Law also authorizes a public governmental body, like the Fire Department, to close records to the extent they relate to “non-judicial mental or physical health proceedings involving identifiable persons, including medical, psychiatric, psychological … diagnosis or treatment.” Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.021(5). 7. On April 4, 2014, the Fire Department’s attorney Barbara Birkicht issued a letter to plaintiff in response to her request explaining that the HIPAA Privacy Rule, the fiduciary duty of patient-physician confidentiality, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.150, and Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.021(5) precluded the Fire Department from releasing the information sought by plaintiff. 8. With Birkicht’s response, the Fire Department also provided redacted copies of records for calls for service at the Planned Parenthood facility located at 4251 Forest Park Avenue. All protected patient health information was redacted from the documents in compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule and state law. 45 C.F.R. § 164.502; Brandt, 856 S.W.2d at 674; Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.150; and Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.021(5). 9. On or about May 30, 2014, plaintiff filed a petition alleging a purposeful violation of the Missouri Sunshine Law, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610. 2 Electronically Filed - City of St. Louis - January 12, 2015 - 11:50 AM banc 1993); Fierstein v. DePaul Health Center, 949 S.W.23d 90, 92 (Mo.App. E.D. Missouri law bar the Fire Department from releasing the information sought by plaintiff. Consequently, the Missouri Sunshine Law exempts the disclosure of the records sought by plaintiff, and plaintiff has no basis for claiming a purposeful violation of the Sunshine Law. WHEREFORE Defendant City requests that this Court grant this Motion and enter its order granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant Fire Department and against plaintiff and ordering such other relief as this Court deems just and proper. Respectfully submitted, WINSTON E. CALVERT CITY COUNSELOR By: /s/ Erin K. McGowan Erin K. McGowan, #64020 Assistant City Counselor 1200 Market Street City Hall Room 314 St. Louis, Missouri 63103 Phone: 314-622-4167 Fax: 314-622-4956 McGowanE@stlouis-mo.gov ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANT Certificate of Service I hereby certify that on this 12th day of January, 2015 the foregoing was filed electronically with the Clerk of Court to be served by operation of the Court’s electronic filing system to all attorneys of record. /s/ Erin K. McGowan 3 Electronically Filed - City of St. Louis - January 12, 2015 - 11:50 AM 10. Here, the HIPAA privacy rule, the fiduciary duty of patient-physician confidentiality, and