ST. LOUIS - A defamation suit that was dismissed against an oncology doctor at Washington University School of Medicine has been affirmed by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.
In the April 10 ruling, the three-judge panel affirmed a decision from St. Louis City Circuit Court Judge Robert H. Dierker, Jr. who agreed with Dr. Brian Van Tine's defense of claims brought by medical assistant Sandra Lovelace.
Lovelace was discharged from Washington University on Aug. 5, 2015 after having been placed on administrative leave following several days of calling in sick due to "her distress," according to the ruling.
Her lawsuit alleged that her supervisors told her on July 13, 2015 that Van Tine reported that Lovelace said: "Don't hire Angie Butcher; she doesn't like working with white people."
"Lovelace denied making any such statement, became very upset, and was allowed to leave work early," the ruling states. "Lovelace called into work sick for several days due to her distress, and eventually (supervisors) Goldberg and Brinkley placed her on administrative leave."
Lovelace alleged that Van Tine maliciously and falsely accused her of making the statement regarding Angie Butcher in order to "divert blame for making a racially based hiring decision," the ruling states.
She further claimed that Van Tine's accusation directly and proximately caused damage to her reputation and loss of employment, as well as extreme mental and emotional distress.
Judge Dierker had agreed with both of Van Tine's arguments for dismissal - that Lovelace's petition failed to state a claim, in that his statement to her supervisors did not constitute a publication to a third party, which is an essential element of defamation.
Dierker also agreed that the statement allegedly made by Lovelace was capable of an innocent and non-defamatory meaning.
The appeals panel, which included judges Gary M. Gaertner, Jr., Robert M. Clayton, III and Angela T. Quigless, affirmed Dierker's decision.
"Because statements made to supervisors do not constitute publication, the facts in Lovelace's petition fail to establish an element of defamation," Gaertner wrote for the panel.