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Keywords

negligenceappealdivorceduty of care
plaintiffdefendanttrialdivorceduty of care

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Ryder v. Mitchell, 54 P.3d 885

Facts

Denise Mitchell was awarded custody of her two minor children after her divorce from David Mitchell. Following the children's overnight visits with their father, Denise noticed behavioral changes and suspected abuse, leading her to seek therapy for the children from psychologist Gloria Ryder. Ryder concluded that David did not pose a danger to the children and expressed concerns about parental alienation in a letter to Denise, which she also sent to David and the children's new therapist. Denise subsequently sued Ryder for negligence after David filed for a change of custody.

The plaintiff, Denise Mitchell, was divorced from her husband, David Mitchell, in 1995. In the divorce proceeding, the trial court awarded custody of the couple's two minor children to the plaintiff.

Issue

Did the child therapist owe a duty of care to the mother of her patients regarding the alleged misdiagnosis of parental alienation and the reporting of her findings?

In this case, we must determine whether a child therapist owes a duty of care to her patients' mother in a circumstance in which she allegedly misdiagnosed symptoms of parental alienation and reported her findings to the father and to the children's new therapist.

Rule

A therapist's primary duty is to their patients, and creating a duty to a non-patient parent could conflict with that primary duty. The law does not impose a duty of care upon a therapist for the benefit of a non-patient parent.

We disagree and now conclude that the duty the therapist owes the children themselves is primary and may, under certain circumstances, require disclosure to the parents or other involved parties.

Analysis

The court analyzed whether a duty existed by weighing the risks involved, the foreseeability of injury, and the social utility of the therapist's conduct. It concluded that while there is a risk of injury to a parent from a misdiagnosis, the primary duty of the therapist is to the children, and imposing a duty to the parent could hinder the therapist's ability to provide effective treatment. The court found that the potential harm to the children from a misdiagnosis was a more significant concern than the risks to the parent.

The risks of injury associated with a misdiagnosis of parental alienation are foreseeable, but perhaps not likely to occur. One therapist's opinion is but one of many factors a court might examine in determining custody and parenting time arrangements.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals' decision, affirming that Ryder did not owe a duty of care to Denise Mitchell, and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Therefore, we now conclude that, under the facts presented here, Ryder did not owe the plaintiff a duty of care that would permit the plaintiff recourse arising out of Ryder's letter regarding the presence of parental alienation.

Who won?

Gloria Ryder prevailed in the case because the court determined that she did not owe a duty of care to Denise Mitchell, as her primary responsibility was to the children she was treating.

The court acknowledged the holding in Montoya, however, relying on Card v. Blakeslee, the court held that the letter the defendant sent to the plaintiff, and on which she copied Mitchell, did not constitute the kind of 'public report or recommendation' that would trigger the duty announced in Montoya.

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