UPDATE: Minn. High Court Dumps Doc's 'Tool' Libel Claim

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In his 13-page decision this week in David McKee, M.D. v. Dennis K. Laurion (Docket No. A11-1154), Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page reversed a court of appeals ruling and sided with the trial court that originally dismissed a neurologist's defamation claim against the son of a stroke patient he treated who had posted negative remarks about the plaintiff on a rate-your-physician Web site.

The Minnesota High Court heard oral arguments four months ago (see "TUOL" post 9/5/12) in the case brought by Dr. McKee of Northland Neurology & Myology in Duluth against the son of a 65-year-old stroke patient he treated concerning a half-dozen allegedly actionable statements reflecting the son's dissatisfaction with the medical care provided and his belief that Dr. McKee was rude and insensitive.

The lightning rod among the allegedly offensive statements was a post by the defendant that said: "When I mentioned Dr. McKee's name to a friend who is a nurse, she said, 'Dr. McKee is a real tool!'"  "Referring to someone as 'a real tool' falls into the category of pure opinion," Justice Page wrote, "because the term 'real tool' cannot be reasonably interpreted as stating a fact and it cannot be proven true or false." Characterizing the remark as "rhetorical hyperbole" and "mere vituperation or abuse," Justice Page said it could not support a defamation action as a matter of law.

The devoted "TUOL" staff supports the Minnesota Supreme Court's decision and the principle that pure opinion is not susceptible to a defamatory meaning, but questions whether bringing a lawsuit such as the one at issue in the first place is sufficient proof of "tooldom" in and of itself.

Minn. High Court Distinguishes Medical Device from Medical 'Tool'

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The Minnesota Supreme Court yesterday heard oral arguments in David McKee, M.D. v. Dennis Laurion (Case No. A11-1154), a libel case that turns on the question of whether the plaintiff was defamed by a comment by the defendant on a rate-your-physician Web site.

McKee, a neurologist at Northland Neurology and Myology in Duluth, treated the defendant's father, Kenneth Laurion in April 2010, when the 65-year-old was hospitalized after suffering a stroke, according to an article in The Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The defendant, displeased with the neurologist's bedside manner, posted the following allegedly defamatory comment on a Web site: "When I mentioned Dr. McKee's name to a friend who is a nurse, she said, 'Dr. McKee is a real tool!'"

A trial court dismissed McKee's defamation claim, but the Minnesota Appeals Court reinstated the case last January. The defendant is asserting Internet free speech rights and arguing that calling someone a "tool" is a statement of opinion not susceptible to a defamatory meaning, a position that the Star Tribune article suggested found favor with some of the Minnesota Supreme Court justices (and the humble staff of "TUOL"). Plaintiff's counsel, however, argued the defendant fabricated the purported conversation with a nurse and damaged the doctor's reputation by portraying him as uncaring and insensitive.

A decision is expected from the High Court within three to five months, according to the Star Tribune article. Until then, the medical experts at "TUOL" prescribe that the plaintiff take two pills a day until the swelling in his ego goes down.