A federal appeals court has dismissed an action filed by a man against an upstate health clinic based on the disclosure by one of its nurses to the man’s girlfriend that he had a sexually transmitted disease.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Monday in Doe v. Guthrie Clinic, 12-1045-cv, that it was dismissing the final remaining claim against the clinic for breach of the fiduciary duty of confidentiality. It said it acted after receiving an answer from the state Court of Appeals on a certified question that under New York law, an employer cannot be held liable for the actions of an employee that are not reasonably foreseeable and not within the scope of their employment (NYLJ, Jan. 10).
