Schwade
McKeel
Madison County Circuit Judge William Mudge will hold a hearing March 15 in chambers on motions including a dismissal move and a plea to enter a third party complaint in a suit over the alleged revelation of sexually transmitted disease (STD) test results in a romantic squabble.
A protective order has been in place in the suit filed by plaintiff Jane Doe since last year.
Jane Doe is suing Maureen Sackmann and Quest Diagnostics Inc. for damages in excess of $350,000, attorney's fees and costs.
Jane Doe alleges that she and Sackmann were dating the same man, John Doe, when Jane Doe tested positive for herpes at a Quest facility where Sackmann worked.
The plaintiff claims Sackmann then revealed those test result to John Doe.
She is suing Quest as Sackmann's employer.
Sackmann and Quest deny the plaintiff's claims.
The protective order was entered last year after media coverage of the case by The Madison County Record, Alton Telegraph and other news outlets.
The plaintiff claimed that media exposure and information revealed in public discovery would reveal her identity and those of her family members.
The order went into effect in September 2010 and since then several motions in the suit have been filed under seal.
Sackmann filed the most recent action in the case in mid-February.
Those filings include a move to dismiss the first count of Jane Doe's suit, a claim of the intention infliction of emotional distress.
Sackmann alleges that the plaintiff has not alleged the sufficient "extreme and outrageous" acts on Sackmann's part that warrant the claim.
Sackmann also filed a move Feb. 16 asking for leave to file a third party complaint against John Doe.
In the proposed complaint, Sackmann alleges that she and John Doe were romantically involved from 2006 to 2008 and that John Doe lived with her part-time.
In 2008, John Doe met Jane Doe and began a sexual relationship, the complaint says.
Sackmann alleges that Jane Doe drove past her home and that she called the home looking for John Doe.
That call led the pair to discover John Doe's involvement with both women.
Sackmann claims the women spoke several times over the course of months.
It was during one of those conversations that Jane Doe allegedly revealed the positive herpes test results.
Sackmann claims that later, after she and John Doe broke up, he confessed that he had been having sex with Jane Doe and that she had herpes.
Later, according to the proposed complaint, Jane Doe confronted John Doe about how Sackmann knew about the herpes and he told Jane Doe that Sackmann had accessed her test results.
Sackmann claims she was unaware Jane Doe had gone to her employer's facilities for testing.
Quest later terminated Sackmann who eventually found other employment at CHC Wellness.
The company learned of the Doe litigation in November 2010 through internet news stories.
CHC then fired Sackmann in November 2010.
Sackmann claims that she has been unable to find other employment since then due to the Doe lawsuit.
Sackmann now asks to sue John Doe for defamation of character, civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and interference with prospective economic advantage.
The suit seeks damages in excess of $50,000 a count, attorney's fees, punitive damages, costs and other relief.
She is also pursuing a counterclaim against Jane Doe on identical claims to those in the John Doe related complaint.
Mudge will hear the motions in chambers at 9:30 a.m.
Michael Schwade represents Sackmann.
Emily Johnson represents Jane Doe.
L. Allison McKeel represents Quest.
The case is Madison case number 10-L-101.