Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maine
daycare cofidentiality
I have a family daycare and last summer I took a family with three kids one beloning to the mother, one belonging to the father and one from the two of them. They were not married and the recently split up and the mother moved taking her's and the one belonging to the both of them, and I kept the fathers child. The woman recently contacted me regarding buying my tredmill and asked simple questions regarding how the child I kept was doing and venting about the father. In the coarse of this conversation I feel I may have said some things regarding the child and the father that I should not have said. I was unaware that she had a pfa on the father and that she was taking him to court. I feel I was manipulated by her and now she has informed me that she may have me called to testify for her. My question is if the only contract I had was with this woman and the father never filled out his new contract for the child did I breach confidentiality? And if so what is my liability?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: daycare cofidentiality
It probably depends on what your contract with the father says. Generally speaking, there is no confidentiality or privilege attached to the daycare provider-client relationship. Depending on the contract, however, you may have contracted to take on specific confientiality obligations and whether or not you have breached those obligations depends on the specific language of the contract.
If you are called to trial, there is no legally recognized privilege, such as attorney/client, husband/wife or doctor/patient. Therefore, you will be required to answer questions asked of you. Any testimony at trial, even if in contravention to the contract language, should be protected by the fact that you are under oath and testifying in a legal matter.
Therefore, it seems to appear that your testimony at court would not expose you to any liability, but that your underlying disclosure of some facts to the mother may have. If you would like more specific advice, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Re: daycare cofidentiality
It probably depends on what your contract with the father says. Generally speaking, there is no confidentiality or privilege attached to the daycare provider-client relationship. Depending on the contract, however, you may have contracted to take on specific confientiality obligations and whether or not you have breached those obligations depends on the specific language of the contract.
If you are called to trial, there is no legally recognized privilege, such as attorney/client, husband/wife or doctor/patient. Therefore, you will be required to answer questions asked of you. Any testimony at trial, even if in contravention to the contract language, should be protected by the fact that you are under oath and testifying in a legal matter.
Therefore, it seems to appear that your testimony at court would not expose you to any liability, but that your underlying disclosure of some facts to the mother may have. If you would like more specific advice, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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