DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE MENTAL-HEALTH TREATMENT OF A PEDOPHILE PRIEST WERE NOT PROTECTED BY PRIEST-PENITENT, PHYSICIAN-PATIENT OR PSYCHOLOGIST-PATIENT PRIVILEGES; THE NAMES OF OTHER CHILDREN ABUSED BY THE PRIEST ALLEGED TO HAVE ABUSED PLAINTIFF ARE DISCOVERABLE (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Dillon, determined progress reports concerning the mental health treatment of a pedophile priest were discoverable without redaction in this Child Victims Act case against the Diocese. The Diocese claimed the redacted information was protected from disclosure by the priest-penitent, physician-patient and psychologist-patient privileges. The Second Department determined those privileges were waived by the (pedophile) priest who consented to forwarding the reports to a third-party, a Bishop overseeing the priest’s progress. In addition, the priest-penitent privilege did not apply because the documents did not relate to spiritual guidance. The Second Department further determined that the names of other victims allegedly abused by the same priest were discoverable:
This appeal permits us to address two principal sets of issues. The first is a rare two-step analysis regarding the potential disclosure of progress reports and letters generated at the request of a religious organization to determine whether an alleged pedophile priest could be safely returned to duties at a parish. Under the circumstances of this appeal, we hold that the progress reports of an alleged pedophile priest that are shared with his Bishop with accompanying letters, to assist the Bishop in determining whether the priest may return to parish duties, fall outside the scope of the clergy-penitent privilege of confidentiality under CPLR 4505. Further, we hold that the physician-patient and psychologist-patient privileges of confidentiality for progress reports and letters generated by a psychological treatment facility to assist the same Bishop’s determination, and disclosed to the Bishop for that purpose, are waived under CPLR 4504 and 4507. Relatedly, we hold that the Appellate Division, Second Department, agrees with the reasoning of the Appellate Divisions, First and Third Departments, that in actions pursuant to the Child Victims Act (CVA) (see CPLR 214-g), courts may exercise discretion in favor of requiring the unredacted disclosure of the identities of alleged abuse victims other than the plaintiff, so long as those abuses were committed by the same alleged abuser rather than by any other alleged abuser. Maida v Diocese of Brooklyn, 2025 NY Slip Op 06314, Second Dept 11-19-25
Practice Point: Consult this opinion for discussions of the nature of the priest-penitent, physician-patient and psychologist-patient privileges in the context of the discovery of documents relating to the mental health treatment of a pedophile priest accused of abusing children.
Practice Point: Consult this opinion for a discussion of the discoverability of the names of other children abused by the priest who is alleged to have abused the plaintiff.