HOUSTON - The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Texas affirmed a ruling against a Houston hospital that motioned to dismiss a case in which they were accused of wrongfully terminating an employee.
Plaintiff Willie Harvey, a former Houston Methodist Hospital employee, filed the lawsuit in the 125th District Court after one of Harvey’s subordinates, Jason Lazo, notified Harvey’s supervisor that he had solicited gifts from a vendor. Harvey was eventually fired after the allegations were investigated.
“Harvey then filed suit against Houston Methodist and Lazo, alleging, in pertinent part, that Lazo defamed Harvey and that Houston Methodist was vicariously liable for Lazo’s statements,” states the lawsuit.
“Contending that Harvey’s defamation claim is based on, relates to, or is in response to Lazo’s exercise of free speech, Houston Methodist filed a motion to dismiss under the TCPA. Harvey opposed the motion on the grounds that: (1) the TCPA does not apply; and (2) clear and specific evidence supports a prima facie case for each element of his defamation claim. The trial court did not rule on Houston Methodist’s motion, so it was denied by operation of law.”
In enacting the TCPA, the legislature explained that its overarching purpose is “to encourage and safeguard the constitutional rights of persons to petition, speak freely, associate freely, and otherwise participate in government to the maximum extent permitted by law and, at the same time, protect the rights of a person to file meritorious lawsuits for demonstrable injury.”
Justice Kevin Jewell concluded that the TCPA does not apply to Harvey’s lawsuit because the communications at issue do not involve a matter of public concern, affirming the trial court’s denial of Houston Methodist’s TCPA motion to dismiss.
“In sum, we conclude that Houston Methodist failed to show that the communications upon which Harvey’s claims are sufficiently connected to a ‘matter of public concern,’ and thus the action is not based on, related to, or in response to the exercise of the right of free speech,” wrote Jewell.