A woman who alleges she was sexually abused by “Scrubs” producer Eric Weinberg is not entitled to access to medical records regarding his treatment for sex addiction and other problems, a judge has ruled.
During a hearing Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Upinder Kalra granted a motion by Weinberg’s lawyer to quash four subpoenas for the information sought.
In his court papers, the producer’s lawyer argued that the privilege between a patient and a psychotherapist is “well recognized as necessary to prevent the patient’s humiliation that would attend the disclosure of mental ailments, as well as necessary to encourage candid and complete patient disclosure so as to facilitate effective diagnosis and treatment.”
The plaintiff’s four subpoenas sought Weinberg’s treatment records for sexual addiction, impulse control and anger management from psychotherapists and physicians, all of which the producer’s lawyer maintained were “clearly privileged.”
The plaintiff, an actress identified only as S.T., alleges that in 2011 the Hollywood executive isolated her and inappropriately touched her after trapping her against a wall while she was working on the set of the MTV show “Death Valley.”
For weeks before the alleged encounter, Weinberg harassed S.T. by phone, calling almost daily and talking about his private parts and his sexual acts, the suit filed last Sept. 12 alleges.
S.T. was a young actress trying to make a living and build a career in the film industry, while Weinberg was an established producer who told her he had the power and connections to blacklist her from any further work and she felt powerless to stop his behavior, the complaint states.
“This was not an isolated incident for Weinberg, a Hollywood producer who has been criminally charged for sexually assaulting multiple women after encountering them in public, on dating sites, or on filming sets,” according to the suit, one of many by women making similar allegations against Weinberg.
In their court papers in opposition to quashing the subpoena, S.T.’s attorneys included a declaration by Weinberg’s ex-wife, Hilary Bidwell, who said she observed that Weinberg “suffers from mental health issues, including but not limited to sexual addiction and attraction to underage girls, suicidal ideations and anger management issues. We have worked with several professionals, including sexual recovery specialists, therapists, and rehabilitation centers since 2009 as a family.”
Bidwell married Weinberg in 2001 and separated from him in 2014.