Doyle v Caldwell

Balancing the discovery rights of the Defendant against the privacy rights of the Plaintiff, California’s Sixth Appellate Court ruled, in an employment law suit, that the Defendant, Caldwell, could not compel the Plaintiff, Cindy Doyle, to undergo a forensic psychiatric independent medical examination (even thought she put her mental status at issue) when she only claimed time-limited and not ongoing and continuing severe emotional distress. Although this decision limits the Defendant’s discovery rights, it also limits the ultimate value of the Plaintiff’s emotional damages claim.