ALBANY – An upstate health clinic is not liable for the confidentiality breach that occurred when one of its nurses revealed to a patient’s girlfriend that he had a sexually transmitted disease, the state Court of Appeals decided Thursday.

The 6-1 court said it was rejecting the plaintiff’s argument in Doe v. Guthrie Clinic, 224, that absolute liability should be imposed on the clinic for the actions of the nurse, who was the sister-in-law of the girlfriend.