Virginia Lawyers Weekly

A jury has returned verdicts totaling $2 million for two former psychologists at Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg who contended that two top officials at the hospital defamed them.

The plaintiffs are Douglas M. Gross, director of psychology at the hospital when the alleged defamation occurred in 2004, and Sarah W. Bisconer, a staff psychologist then.

Gross and Bisconer were conducting a research project at the time in collaboration with Eastern Virginia Medical School on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), one of the most frequently used personality tests.

They alleged that Deborah J. Mazzarella, another staff psychologist at the hospital, filed a complaint with the American Psychological Association contending Gross and Bisconer had violated the association’s ethical principles during the research.

John M. Favret, director of the hospital, was aware that Mazzarella had filed the complaint and had provided her with a confidential report prepared by consultants who had concluded that “Gross and Bisconer failed to provide on-site supervision coordination of the project” and that they “should be restricted from participation in any future research activities until they have successfully completed the defined re-training series including research, methodology, ethical standards, and human rights,” the plaintiffs alleged.

After the report of alleged misconduct, Gross was forced to retire as director of psychology and Mazzarella was named acting director, according to Jeremiah A. Denton III, the Virginia Beach attorney who represented the plaintiffs.

Bisconer also has left the hospital and now works for a community services board, Denton said.

Gross and Bisconer incurred $43,069 in legal expenses opposing the allegations filed with the APA, which dismissed them without filing a formal complaint after considering them for two years.

Denton called as expert witnesses a former general counsel for the APA and Robert P. Archer, the chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at EVMS.

They testified there were no shortcomings in the conduct of the plaintiffs, and “even if there had been, they wouldn’t have been ethical violations,” Denton said.

The defendants contended that their allegations were true and that Mazzarella’s complaint to the APA was based on her concern for the welfare of the patients at the hospital.

The jury returned awards on Tuesday of $600,000 in compensatory damages and $400,000 in punitive damages for each plaintiff.

Retired Hampton Circuit Judge Walter J. Ford presided over the trial. He did not instruct the jury that the defendants had a qualified privilege in alleging misconduct because the allegations were made outside the hospital, Denton said.

Assistant Attorney General Paul Kugelman Jr. represented the defendants. A spokesman for the AG’s office said it is disappointed with the outcome and is reviewing its options.

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