HOUSTON – A man arrested at a hospital where his dying mother was being treated has lost his appeal against a trial court decision dismissing claims of malicious prosecution and emotional distress.
The 14th Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 23 affirmed the decision of the 61st District Court of Harris County, which granted summary judgment to Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital in Houston, et al.
Lewis Atchison was arrested for criminal trespass at the Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital in Houston after he returned to facility during non-visiting hours and after he had earlier been escorted from the premises.
Atchison sued the hospital and several named staff members in 2016 following the 2014 arrest over allegations of malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but lost his case after the 61st District issued a summary judgment against him.
He appealed to the 14th Court of Appeals, alleging there was not adequate time for discovery and the defendants did not negate any of his claims of malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
But Justice Martha Hill Jamison, who authored the Appeals Court opinion, affirmed the district court decision, ruling that "reporting trespassing to the police was not extreme and outrageous conduct."
This was true because reporting trespassing after an individual was already not to enter the hospitals was "not outrageous behavior as citizens have a duty to report criminal activity to the police," the ruling states.
The ruling outlines details of the incidents that led to Atchison’s arrest at the hospital, where his mother was in intensive care and, according to staff, was going to "pass away."
A nurse supervisor called the police and told them she wanted Atchison removed from the hospital due to his behavior, that he previously was "acting disrespectful and aggressive towards the hospital staff," and that he came to the facility during non-visiting hours.
Atchison was escorted from the hospital by police and told that if he returned he would be arrested for trespassing. He returned later the same day.
An off-duty police officer, doubling as a hospital security guard, was notified and recognized Atchison as the subject of "multiple complaints on him and his aggressive conduct towards the medical staff in the hospital,” the ruling states. He was arrested and charged, but this was later dismissed.