document 2 electronically filed circuit court of...

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MORGAN COUNTY, ALABAMA

JANE DOE on behalf of herself and as guardian and next friend of MARY DOE, BRENDA BOE, CARLA COE, FRANCIS FOE, and GRACE GOE PLAINTIFFS, v. MICHAEL DICK, ALABAMA MEDICINE & RHEUMATOLOGY, INC., and FICTITIOUS PARTY DEFENDANTS A, B, and C, being those individuals or entities who negligently, recklessly, and/or wantonly injured Plaintiffs or contributed to injuries Plaintiffs suffered by standing idly by and enabled his/her co-Defendants harm them; their identities are currently unknown but will become named defendants to this action once their identities are discovered pursuant to ALA.R.CIV.P. 9(h), DEFENDANTS.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO.: __________________

COMPLAINT

COMES NOW, Plaintiffs, via pseudonyms, and file their Complaint against Michael Dick

(hereinafter “Dick”), the Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology, Inc. (hereinafter “AM&R”), and

Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C, and, in support thereof, show as follows:

ELECTRONICALLY FILED5/30/2018 2:06 PM

52-CV-2018-900276.00CIRCUIT COURT OF

MORGAN COUNTY, ALABAMACHRIS PRIEST, CLERK

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INTRODUCTION

My goal will be to help, or at least do no harm.1 The prohibition against sexual contact between a physician and a patient is well established and is embodied in the oath taken by physicians, the Hippocratic Oath.2

Michael Dick does business out of Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology, Inc. He practiced

for a time in California but left under unknown circumstances in 2003 before arriving in Ashland,

Alabama and eventually coming to reside and work in Decatur, Alabama in 2004. In 2006, the

Alabama Board of Medical Examiners received complaints against Dick. However, nothing was

done, and he continued to practice at AM&R and see female patients.

In August 2016, Francis Foe, a 35-year-old woman, originally saw Dick for symptoms

related to lupus. She was unaware of the previous complaint made against him. The first visit went

fine, and she returned to AM&R in September 2016 seeking relief from a swollen and painful

ankle. During this second appointment Defendant Dick groped her against her will and rubbed his

erect penis on her leg. She left AM&R crying and never returned. Believing that no one would

believe her over a licensed doctor, she did not report the assault at that time.

Later that same year, in November 2016, Carla Coe, a 59-year-old woman, saw Dick for

symptoms related to rheumatoid arthritis. She was also completely unaware of the complaints

made against Dick. The first two visits were fine, but during the third Defendant Dick did some

things which made her feel uncomfortable, including pulling her pants down past her knees to

administer a shot to her lower back. Despite this, and not wanting to believe any licensed doctor

1 Hippocratic Oath. 2 Alabama Board of Medical Examiners & Medical Licensure Commission of Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct 540-X-9-.08 (1)

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would fondle a woman without her consent for his own twisted sexual gratification, she returned

for a fourth visit.

It was during this visit that Michael Dick groped her and kissed her against her will. When

she rebuffed him, Dick asked her to meet he and his girlfriend at a bar. When she demurred, Dick

told her that he would simply take her phone number from her medical chart. Plaintiff Coe received

several calls from an unrecognized number the following weekend. Dick confirmed that the

number was his by asking if Coe was ignoring him at her follow-up appointment. She did not

report these events to the police at the time, as she feared no one would believe her and was stymied

by the shame she felt over the assault.

In April 2017, Jane Doe, a 59-year-old woman, brought her 25-year-old, mentally-disabled

quadriplegic niece, Mary Doe, with her to her visit to see Michael Dick. Almost immediately after

entering the room, Dick began to rub Mary Doe on the arms, working his way towards her breasts.

Mary began to wail when Dick began rubbing her breasts and Jane Doe pulled her niece away

from him. He then rolled his cart over to Jane Doe and began rubbing his erect penis on her leg.

Jane Doe immediately got up and rolled her niece’s wheelchair out of the office never to return.

Fearing shame, ridicule, and disbelief, Jane Doe did not report the events to the Decatur Police

Department at the time.

Over a year later, in August 2017, Grace Goe, a 39-year-old woman with arthritis in her

cervical spine, began seeing Michael Dick at AM&R, unaware of the previous complaint. Her first

visit with him was fine, but during the second Defendant Dick did some things which made her

feel uncomfortable. However, Plaintiff Goe did not want to believe any licensed doctor would

sexually assault one of his patients. Therefore, she returned for a third visit in November 2017. It

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was during this visit Michael Dick put his hands under her breasts, put his hand down her pants

(without a glove), and kissed her on the mouth without her consent.

There was a nurse, Fictitious Party Defendant A, in the room the entire time Dick assaulted

Plaintiff Goe. This nurse said nothing and did nothing to stop or prevent the assault.

Goe, a survivor of child sexual abuse, shut down, went numb, and could not say a word.

Dick took her silence as consent. He stood her up, began to hug her, and rubbed his erect penis on

her leg. She left, called her husband crying hysterically, and went straight to the Decatur Police

Department where she filed charges. Dick was not arrested, but Goe did sign a consent form to use

some drug task force surveillance equipment to record his behavior.

Unfortunately, Goe had to resort to using her phone to record her final visit. The footage

obtained during her December 2017 visit, to which her husband drove her, shows that Dick

immediately began rubbing her breasts, hugging her and rubbing his erection on her pubic area.

Goe became non-communicative. She could not speak; she just covered her face and started crying.

When she lay down on the exam table, Dick pulled her bodily up the table and rubbed her face and

stomach. Goe did not push him away.

Goe’s husband came into the office after she had been inside for almost three hours. Even

though there were nurses near the room where Goe was being sexually assaulted by Michael Dick,

they would not pick up the phone or interrupt Dick to let him know Goe’s husband was in the

lobby. Goe’s husband beat on the door separating the lobby and examination areas until Goe came

out. She was crying, saying over and over “He did it again!” They left, never to return.

Grace Goe and her husband went to the Decatur Police Department with the footage.

Nothing was done, and Dick was not arrested.

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During this same time, Brenda Boe, a 35-year-old woman, was seeing Michael Dick at

AM&R for complaints of arthritic changes to her knee as well as for pain and soreness arising

from a fall down the stairs in her home. She began seeing him in October 2017, knowing nothing

of Grace Goe’s earlier police report. She was completely vulnerable to this sexual predator.

Much as with the other Plaintiffs, the first two visits were fine, but, during the third in

January 2018, more than a month after Grace Goe had made her initial complaint to the Decatur

Police Department and just days after the Department had seen Goe’s cell phone footage, Dick

groped Brenda Boe and kissed her on the mouth without her consent before rubbing his erect penis

on her legs. He also pushed her pants and underwear down to her knees for an injection that was

administered in her hip. All the while a nurse, Fictitious Party A, was in the room, saying nothing.

Boe left the clinic, drove immediately to the Decatur Police Department and filed a report of

assault.

Around this same time, Grace Goe filled out a warrant for Dick’s arrest and contacted a

reporter from a local television station. Finally, Michael Dick was arrested. However, he was only

charged with misdemeanor sexual assault. He returned to his practice three days later to continue

seeing female patients.

Once the television station aired its report, Plaintiffs Coe, Foe, and Jane and Mary Doe

came forward and filed charges with the Decatur Police Department.

Michael Dick molested, groped, and sexually assaulted women, including the six named

Plaintiffs, in the offices of his business Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology Clinic. None of

Plaintiffs invited these actions, asked for them, wished for them, or gained pleasure from them. In

fact, Plaintiffs have experienced extreme and ongoing physical, mental, and emotional anguish

arising from the actions of Defendant Dick. Plaintiffs’ trust in Michael Dick was turned to fear,

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distress and anxiety for now they which seek to recover and to protect other women int the North

Alabama community by preventing them from undergoing the suffering they have endured.

Michael Dick is not practicing medicine. Instead, he is using his business, AM&R, to prey

on vulnerable women and girls. Perhaps even worse, he has surrounded himself with a group of

nurses, employees, and associates who are willing to enable and/or facilitate the sexual assault of

the women coming to the clinic by turning a blind eye to the suffering of those women Dick has

chosen to victimize. These nurses, employees and associates will be added to this suit as soon as

their identities are discovered.

As of this filing, Michael Dick has been charged with two counts of misdemeanor

harassment. The Alabama Medical Board has apparently opened an investigation.

Despite this, Michael Dick is free and is still seeing people in his clinic. Including females.

Of all ages.

PARTIES

1. Plaintiffs bring this suit under pseudonyms which are not their true and correct

names but are fictitious names utilized to protect their privacy as victims of sexual harassment,

abuse and molestation.

2. Plaintiff Jane Doe is above the age of nineteen (19) years and is a female resident

of Colbert County, Alabama.

3. Plaintiff Mary Doe is above the age of nineteen (19) years and is a mentally and

physically disabled adult who is fully under the care of Jane Doe, her aunt, who is the next friend

of Plaintiff Mary Doe, a female resident of Colbert County, Alabama.

4. Plaintiff Brenda Boe is above the age of nineteen (19) years and is a female resident

of Lawrence County, Alabama.

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5. Plaintiff Carla Coe is above the age of nineteen (19) years and is a female resident

of Lauderdale County, Alabama.

6. Plaintiff Francis Foe is above the age of nineteen (19) years and is a female resident

of Madison County, Alabama.

7. Plaintiff Grace Goe is above the age of nineteen (19) years and is a female resident

of Colbert County, Alabama.

8. Defendant Michael Dick is above the age of nineteen (19) years, resides in Morgan

County, Alabama, and is a male employee of AM&R.

9. Defendant Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology, Inc. is incorporated under the laws

of the State of Alabama with its principal place of business in Decatur, Alabama.

10. Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C being those individuals or entities who

negligently, recklessly, and/or wantonly injured Plaintiffs or contributed to injuries Plaintiffs

suffered at the hands of Defendant Michael Dick. Whether singular or plural, Plaintiffs hereby

intend to designate that individual or those individuals acting as nurses, associates, partners or staff

working for, with, or around Michael Dick at the time of the injuries suffered by Plaintiffs. These

Defendants stood idly by and watched for years as Dick sexually harassed and assaulted women

around him. As the true names of this Defendant or these Defendants are discovered, the process

and all pleadings and proceedings in the action will be amended by substituting their true names

pursuant to ALA. R. CIV. P. 9(h).

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

11. Paragraphs 1 through 10 are incorporated herein as if set out in full.

12. Given the amount in controversy and the nature of claims plead infra, this Court

has subject matter jurisdiction over this matter.

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13. This Court has personal jurisdiction over the named Defendant.

14. Pursuant to ALA.R.CIV.PRO. 82(b)(2), venue is proper in this Court with respect to

Defendants as this is the judicial district in which a substantial part of the events which have given

rise to the claims, plead infra, occurred.

FACTS

Michael Dick


16. Defendant Michael Dick began working in California after medical school. He left

in 2003 for unknown reasons before finally finding his way to Decatur, Alabama to set up the

Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology clinic.

17. Patients of AM&R come seeking relief from hand, foot, joint, or back pain, most

often from arthritis or similar illness.

18. On April 24, 2006 the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners received a complaint

in which Dick was accused of practicing medicine “in such a way as to engage in immoral,

unprofessional, or dishonorable conduct.”

19. Dick paid a fine. He continued to see patients.

Jane and Mary Doe

20. Plaintiff Jane Doe is a 59-year-old female adult who cares for her 25-year-old,

incapacitated, disabled niece, Plaintiff Mary Doe, after the death of her sister and Mary Doe’s

mother. Plaintiff Jane Doe suffers from arthritis, which makes her daily activities difficult and

painful.

21. In April 2017, Plaintiff Jane Doe’s general practitioner recommended she visit

Defendant Dick.

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22. Plaintiff Jane Doe visited the Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology practice for her

appointment accompanied by Plaintiff Mary Doe.

23. Plaintiff Mary Doe is mentally and physically disabled and is unable to verbally

communicate or to care for herself. She is completely in the care of and relies completely upon her

aunt and next friend, Plaintiff Jane Doe. She is a quadriplegic; confined to a wheelchair.

24. Plaintiff Mary Doe was not in the offices of AM&R to receive any sort of treatment

or services from Defendant Dick.

25. Defendant Dick hugged Plaintiff Mary Doe, who is not able to consent to such

contact, rubbed her arms, and rubbed her breasts.

26. Plaintiff Mary Doe was not able to verbally communicate her discomfort with the

unwanted contact due to her disability. However, she began to wail when Dick touched her breasts.

27. Plaintiff Jane Doe stated that the actions of Defendant Dick were making Plaintiff

Mary Doe uncomfortable, and pulled Mary Doe’s wheelchair away from Dick.

28. At this point Defendant Dick approached Plaintiff Jane Doe. Defendant Dick

rubbed Plaintiff Jane Doe’s legs and pressed his erection against her leg.

29. Plaintiff Jane Doe immediately stood up and left the office with Mary Doe.

30. The unwanted touching perpetuated against Plaintiffs Jane and Mary Doe constitute

sexual assault and were outside of the sought-after medical treatments.

31. Plaintiffs Jane and Mary Doe experienced extreme and ongoing mental and

emotional anguish as a direct result of these assaults by Defendant Dick and the negligent hiring

practices of Defendant AM&R.

32. Plaintiffs Jane and Mary Doe have reported Defendant Dick to the Decatur Police

Department.

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Brenda Boe

33. Plaintiff Brenda Boe is a 35-year-old adult female. In October 2017, she fell down

a flight of stairs in her home, which bruised her right ribs, thigh, knee, and ankle, and made it

difficult for her to stand or for her to lift herself into a standing position.

34. Defendants Michael Dick and AM&R were recommended to Plaintiff Brenda Boe

for treatment of pain arising from the injuries she received in her fall.

35. At her first two visits in October and November 2017, Plaintiff Boe received X-

rays, injections, and prescriptions for medications administered by Defendant Dick for the

treatment of pain in Plaintiff Boe’s knee. Nothing inappropriate happened.

36. At her third visit in January of 2018, Plaintiff Boe was in an exam room with

Defendant Dick and Fictitious Party Defendant A, a female nurse with dirty-blonde hair.

37. Fictitious Party Defendant A did not interfere as Defendant Dick kissed Plaintiff

Boe and bent her over the exam table and groped Plaintiff Boe’s bottom.

38. Fictitious Party Defendant A also failed to interfere when Defendant Dick pushed

Plaintiff Boe’s pants and underwear down to her knees in order to administer injections in her hip.

39. After Plaintiff Boe had pulled her pants up and been helped up from her seated

position, Defendant Dick then further pulled on Plaintiff Boe’s pants and underwear.

40. Plaintiff Boe called her sister in extreme distress after she left AM&R. Plaintiff Boe

called the Medical Examiner’s office on the advice of her mother. Plaintiff Boe also filed a police

report for the assault.

41. Plaintiff Brenda Boe experienced extreme and ongoing mental and emotional

anguish as a direct result of this assault by Defendant Dick, the negligence of Fictitious Party

Defendant A, and the negligent hiring practices of Defendant AM&R.

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42. Plaintiff Brenda Boe has reported Defendant Dick to the Decatur Police

Department.

Carla Coe

43. Plaintiff Carla Coe is a female adult who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, which

causes pain and swelling in her hands, feet, and joints, as well as pain in her lower back, and makes

many activities difficult and painful.

44. Defendant Michael Dick and Defendant AM&R were recommended to Plaintiff

Carla Coe by a friend in 2016 for treatment of her rheumatoid arthritis.

45. At Plaintiff Coe’s first two visits to the Defendants, she was diagnosed with

fibromyalgia and received injections in affected areas as well other treatments to help alleviate the

symptoms of her rheumatoid arthritis. Nothing inappropriate happened.

46. During Plaintiff Coe’s third visit, Defendant Dick was going to administer an

injection to Plaintiff Coe’s lower back to help with pain from fibromyalgia. Defendant Dick

administered the shot himself despite Plaintiff Coe expressing confusion that a nurse was not

administering the injection. Defendant Dick pulled Plaintiff Coe’s pants down past her knees and

laughed at Plaintiff Coe’s discomfort.

47. In May 2017, Defendant Dick met with Plaintiff Coe in an exam room without a

nurse present. Plaintiff Coe was seated on the exam table.

48. Defendant Dick rubbed Plaintiff Coe’s legs, and pressed his erect penis against her

legs. Defendant Dick then held Plaintiff Coe’s knees and spread her legs, pushing between them

to rub his genitals against her pubic area. Plaintiff Coe expressed her discomfort and pushed Dick

away from her.

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49. At the same appointment, Defendant Dick asked Plaintiff Coe if she ever

experienced migraines and rubbed her neck to find sore points. At this time, Defendant Dick took

Plaintiff Coe by the chin and turned her head, placing his lips forcefully on hers. Plaintiff Coe

again expressed her discomfort and pushed him away.

50. Finally, as Plaintiff Coe was getting ready to leave, Defendant Dick expressed

regret that he could not go out with Plaintiff Coe due to his position as her doctor. He then told

Plaintiff Coe that he would take her phone number from her chart. Plaintiff Coe then received

multiple calls from numbers she did not recognize over the following weekend. Defendant Dick

confirmed that it was he that had called during Plaintiff Coe’s following appointment.

51. Plaintiff Carla Coe experienced extreme and ongoing mental and emotional anguish

as a direct result of these assaults by Defendant Dick and the negligent hiring practices of

Defendant AM&R.

52. Plaintiff Carla Coe has reported Defendant Dick to the Decatur Police Department.

Francis Foe

53. In August 2016, Plaintiff Francis Foe saw Defendant Dick for lupus-like symptoms,

which included fatigue as well as swelling and pain in her joints.

54. Plaintiff Foe returned to Alabama Medicine and Rheumatology in September of

2016 for treatment of a swollen ankle.

55. Defendant Dick conducted Plaintiff Foe’s appointment in an exam room, and after

the nurse had left the room, Defendant Dick held Plaintiff Foe’s leg against his crotch, and pressed

his erection against her leg and left it there.

56. After leaving, Plaintiff Foe called her mother in great distress, and subsequently

never returned to AM&R due to the emotional and mental turmoil the assault caused her.

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57. Plaintiff Francis Foe experienced extreme and ongoing mental and emotional

anguish as a direct result of this assault by Defendant Dick and the negligent hiring practices of

Defendant Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology.

58. Plaintiff Francis Foe has reported Defendant Dick to the Decatur Police.

Grace Goe

59. Plaintiff Grace Goe is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.

60. She now suffers from a bulging disk and bone spurs in her spine, as well as arthritis

in her cervical spine, all of which cause her immense pain and make everyday tasks difficult or

impossible.

61. Plaintiff Goe was referred to Defendant Dick and AM&R for treatment of the

above-mentioned ailments in August 2017.

62. At her first appointment, Plaintiff Goe was diagnosed with bursitis and

fibromyalgia, among other issues.

63. Plaintiff Goe had a second appointment with Defendant Dick in September 2017 at

which she received sixteen injections in various parts of her body to help alleviate symptoms of

her arthritis. Nothing inappropriate happened.

64. Plaintiff Goe attended a third appointment in November 2017 where she was again

seen by Defendant Dick in an exam room, this time with Fictitious Party Defendant B, a Caucasian

nurse with blonde hair that appeared to be in her mid-thirties. Plaintiff Goe had visited AM&R

seeking treatment for arthritis in her hands, feet, and joints.

65. Defendant Dick asked Plaintiff Goe to lay back on the examination table and

proceeded to put his hands on her chest underneath her breasts. He then put his hand under the

waistband of her pants and pushed his hand lower, past her stomach without wearing gloves.

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66. Defendant Dick then kissed Plaintiff Goe. He hugged Plaintiff Goe and placed his

face next to her face and placed his erection against her leg. Fictitious Party Defendant B was still

in the room.

67. Plaintiff Goe was extremely upset and uncomfortable with the unwanted,

unwelcome touches from Defendant Dick. Due to her past trauma from other sexual assaults,

Plaintiff Goe felt numb during this encounter.

68. Fictitious Party Defendant B did not interfere as Defendant Dick assaulted Plaintiff

Goe, and their negligence directly contributed to Plaintiff Goe’s subsequent and ongoing mental

and emotional anguish.

69. In extreme distress, Plaintiff Goe then left AM&R and filed a report with the

Decatur Police Department.

70. Plaintiff Goe was in such extreme emotional and mental distress the evening after

the assault that she was forced to report to the emergency room in Muscle Shoals.

71. Days later, Plaintiff Goe signed a consent form to allow her to use the Decatur

Police Drug Task Force’s recording equipment to record the actions of Defendant Dick at Plaintiff

Goe’s next appointment.

72. On December 11, 2017, Plaintiff Goe attended her last appointment at AM&R.

Though there were only two patients ahead of her, Plaintiff Goe waited to see Defendant Dick

until 5:30pm.

73. Plaintiff Goe used her phone to record the appointment.

74. When he came into the room, Defendant Dick immediately grabbed Plaintiff Goe

and pressed his erection into the top of her pubic area. Defendant Dick held her close to him and

rubbed her hair.

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75. Plaintiff Goe again felt numb while this was happening. She covered her face and

cried while Defendant Dick continued to press himself against her.

76. Defendant Dick then released Plaintiff Goe and she sat on the exam table. When

she lay down, Dick pulled her bodily up the table, then rubbed her face and stomach.

77. At this point, Plaintiff Goe had been in AM&R so long that her husband became

concerned and entered the building. He asked the male nurse at the reception desk, Fictitious Party

Defendant C, about Plaintiff Goe. Fictitious Party Defendant C stated that there were no more

patients in the practice, and that Plaintiff Goe may have left with Defendant Dick through the back

entrance.

78. Plaintiff Goe’s husband insisted that Fictitious Party Defendant C call back to the

exam room, and Defendant Dick did not answer the phone, though he and Plaintiff Goe were both

present in the building. Defendant Dick also refused to answer Plaintiff Goe’s husband’s knocks

on the door leading to the exam rooms.

79. When Plaintiff Goe was able to escape, she returned to her husband in extreme

emotional and mental distress. She then went back to the Decatur Police Department to file a

second report of assault.

Currently

80. On January 29, 2018, Defendant Dick was arrested in conjunction with police

reports made by two of the Plaintiffs.

81. The remaining Plaintiffs have all reported assault while at the offices of AM&R.

82. Defendant Dick returned to his practice on January 31, 2018.

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83. In addition, Fictitious Defendants A, B, and C are nurses in the employ of Alabama

Medicine & Rheumatology at the time of the assaults and were in the room when some of these

assaults occurred or were aware of these assaults taking place.

84. Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C directly and indirectly contributed to the

emotional and mental turmoil of the Plaintiffs arising from these sexual assaults through their

neglect and negligence.

85. Because of the relationship between Plaintiffs and Defendants, Defendants had an

obligation and duty under the law not to hide material facts and information about Defendant

Dick’s past and his deviant sexual behavior and propensities. Additionally, Defendants had an

affirmative duty to inform, warn, and institute appropriate protective measures to safeguard

women who were reasonably likely to come in contact with Defendant Dick. Defendants willfully

refused to notify, give adequate warning and implement appropriate safeguards, thereby creating

the peril ultimately damaged Plaintiffs.

86. Finally, the Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology Clinic was or should have been

aware of the pattern of conduct that Defendant Dick perpetuates with his female patients.

87. The AM&R Clinic should have dismissed Defendant Dick on these grounds or

otherwise taken steps to prevent his continued assault of female patients. The Plaintiffs seek

damages for their mental anguish from the responsible and negligent Defendants.

88. All of the Plaintiffs have filed police reports of the unwanted, harmful, and

offensive actions by Defendant Dick described herein.

89. As of the time of this filing, charges against Defendant Dick are still pending, and

he and the other Defendants continue to invite women to the AM&R Clinic in Decatur.

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CAUSE OF ACTION

Count I

Assault


91. During the periods that the Plaintiffs were receiving medical treatment from

Defendant Dick or were present in the offices of Defendant AM&R, Dick, while acting within the

line and scope of his employment with the Defendant AM&R, wrongfully brought about harmful

and offensive contact to the Plaintiffs’ persons.

92. On one or more occasions, the Plaintiffs expressed their discomfort and

unhappiness with the harmful and offensive contact to Defendant Dick, who failed on one or more

occasions to cease the harmful and offensive contact.

93. On one or more occasions, Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C and Defendant

AM&R were present for or aware of the activities described herein and failed to take any actions

to terminate or correct said activities.

94. As a direct and proximate result of the unreasonable and illegal actions of

Defendant Dick, Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C, and Defendant AM&R, Plaintiffs have

suffered from physical and mental anguish and severe emotional distress.

WHEREFORE, the above premises considered, Plaintiffs demand judgment for

compensatory and punitive damages against Defendant Michael Dick, Defendant Alabama

Medicine & Rheumatology, and Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C, in an amount within the

jurisdiction of this Court, together with costs, interest and all other relief, including equitable, that

this Court deems justified and proper.

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Count II

Invasion of Privacy


96. During the periods that the Plaintiffs were receiving medical treatment from

Defendant Dick or were present in the office of Defendant AM&R, Dick, while acting within the

line and scope of his employment with the Defendant AM&R, wrongfully pried or intruded into

the Plaintiffs’ private activities, affairs, and seclusion.

97. The nature of the intrusions referred to herein was so outrageous as to cause mental

suffering, shame, or humiliation to a person of ordinary sensibilities.




99. As a direct and proximate result of the unreasonable and illegal actions of the

Defendant Dick, Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C, and Defendant AM&R, Plaintiffs have




Medicine & Rheumatology, and Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C in an amount within the



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Count III

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

(a.k.a. Tort of Outrage)


101. During the periods that the Plaintiffs were in the presence of Defendant Dick or

were present in the office of Defendant AM&R, Plaintiffs were subjected to conduct so outrageous

in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and to be

regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.

102. The actions referred to herein were intended on the part of Dick, acting within the

line and scope of his employment with AM&R, to cause the Plaintiff to suffer severe emotional

distress or with reckless disregard as to the effect of such conduct.




104. As a direct and proximate result of the unreasonable and illegal action of the

Defendant Dick, Defendant AM&R, and Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C Plaintiffs have




Medicine & Rheumatology, and Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C in an amount within the



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Count IV

Negligence


106. Defendants owed a duty to Plaintiffs to treat them with respect, accord, and

consideration as to any person in a civilized society.

107. Defendants negligently breached this duty to Plaintiffs and, as a consequence,

caused Plaintiffs harm.

108. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ negligence, Plaintiffs have suffered

severe personal injuries and mental anguish which were unintended consequences of Defendants’

negligent actions.


compensatory damages against Defendant Michael Dick, Defendant Alabama Medicine &

Rheumatology, and Fictitious Party Defendants A, B, and C in an amount within the jurisdiction

of this Court, together with costs, interest and all other relief, including equitable, that this Court

deems justified and proper.

Count V

Recklessness/Wantonness


110. Defendants owed a duty to the Plaintiffs to treat them respect, accord, and

consideration as to any person in a civilized society.

111. Defendants recklessly and/or wantonly breached this duty to Plaintiffs and, as a

consequence, caused Plaintiffs harm.

112. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ recklessness and/or wantonness,

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Plaintiffs have suffered severe personal injuries and mental anguish which were perhaps

unintended consequences of Defendants’ actions.


compensatory and punitive damages against Defendant Michael Dick and Fictitious Party

Defendants A, B, and C in an amount within the jurisdiction of this Court, plus costs of this action,

interest and all other relief, including equitable, that this Court deems justified and proper.

Count VI

Negligent Supervision / Retention

(Defendant Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology Clinic Only)


114. Defendant Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology negligently failed to properly

oversee and supervise the actions and conduct of Defendant Dick in his role as an employee of

AM&R.

115. Defendant AM&R was aware of, or would have been aware of with any due

diligence, Defendant Dick’s history and continued pattern of harmful and offensive conduct

toward invited guests to the premises of AM&R.

116. Defendant AM&R negligently failed to terminate Defendant Dick’s employment

after the pattern of harmful and outrageous conduct became known to them.

117. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant AM&R’s negligence, Plaintiffs have

suffered severe personal injuries and mental anguish.


compensatory damages against Defendant Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology in an amount

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within the jurisdiction of this Court, plus costs of this action, interest and all other relief, including

equitable, that this Court deems justified and proper.

Count VII

Violation of Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act

(ALA CODE 1975 § 8-19-1 et seq.)

(Defendant Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology Clinic Only)


119. Defendant AM&R’s misrepresentations, active concealment, and failures to

disclose Michael Dick’s propensity to sexually assault females in its facilities violated the Alabama

Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“DTPA”) in that Defendant misrepresented that its services and

products were of a particular standard, quality, and/or grade when they were of another (Ala. Code

§ 8-19-5(7)).

120. As previously alleged, Plaintiffs entered into a contract that required AM&R to

provide services as advertised.

121. AM&R knew or should have known that Michael Dick preys on female victims and

engages in non-consensual sexual behavior with them. This should have been communicated to

Plaintiffs.

122. AM&R concealed Michael Dick’s activities and proclivities.

123. The foregoing acts and omissions of the Defendant were undertaken negligently,

willfully, intentionally, or knowingly as part of its routine business.

124. Defendant’s misrepresentations and omissions were material to Plaintiffs such that

a reasonable person would consider them important in deciding whether to purchase Defendant’s

services, and had Plaintiffs known the truth, they would have acted differently.

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125. The conduct described herein has tremendous potential to be repeated where other

consumers similarly-situated will be treated with the same unscrupulous, unethical, unfair and

deceptive acts and practices.

126. As a direct and proximate result of AM&R’s violation of the ADTPA, Plaintiffs

suffered damages including, but not limited to: physical injury and sever mental anguish.


compensatory and punitive and treble damages against Defendant Alabama Medicine &

Rheumatology in an amount within the jurisdiction of this Court, plus costs of this action, attorney

fees, interest and all other relief, including equitable and injunctive, that this Court deems justified

and proper.

JURY DEMAND

Plaintiffs demand trial by jury on all issues triable at law.

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Respectfully submitted this the 30th day of May, 2018.

/s/ Eric J. Artrip Teri Ryder Mastando (NIC023) Eric J. Artrip (ART001) MASTANDO & ARTRIP, LLC

301 Washington St., Suite 302 Huntsville, Alabama 35801 Telephone: (256) 532-2222 Facsimile: (256) 513-7489 [email protected] [email protected] Nick Lough (LOU005) THE LOUGH FIRM 223 Eastside Square Huntsville, Alabama 35801 Telephone: (256) 432-7473 [email protected] Marcus Helstowski (HEL024) MCDANIEL & MCDANIEL, LLC 223 Eastside Square Huntsville, Alabama 35801 Telephone: (256) 534-3018 Facsimile: (256) 534-8117 [email protected]

DEFENDANTS TO BE SERVED VIA CERTIFIED MAIL:

Michael Dick 2828 Highway 31 S, Suite 112 Decatur, AL 35603

Alabama Medicine & Rheumatology, Inc. c/o Michael Dick 2828 Highway 31 S, Suite 112

Decatur, AL 35603

DOCUMENT 2

document 2 electronically filed circuit court of...

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