Iowa Judicial Branch Building
DES MOINES, Iowa - A counseling company can't be sued for the suicide of a troubled man who switched social workers after striking up a friendship with the first.
The Iowa Court of Appeals this month ruled for Next Step Counseling Services in a lawsuit brought by the mother of John Lefler, who took his own life in 2019 following a mental health battle complicated by the suicide of his girlfriend.
Rhonda Lemieux's lawsuit blamed a social worker named Janet who she thinks encouraged Lefler to commit suicide. But the court ruled Janet was no longer working at Next Step at that time, so it couldn't be held liable.
"And Lemieux makes no claim directly against Janet and no claims against Next Step based on vicarious liability for Janet's conduct," Judge Paul Ahlers wrote.
"Therefore, Lemieux must prove that Next Step's own conduct - not Janet's independent actions - was the cause of Lefler's death. She has not met that burden."
Lefler started therapy services at Next Step in 2018 after the death of his girlfriend and was assigned to Janet, who had dealt with the suicide of her husband. The two apparently bonded over their similar struggles to the point that Janet asked that Lefler be transferred to therapist Bryon Little.
Janet did not disclose their relationship, instead telling Next Step that their shared experiences were becoming a barrier. Janet left Next Step in the summer of 2019, around the same time Lemieux told Little about the relationship.
Lefler was struggling at the time and was involuntarily committed to a mental-health facility. After Lefler was released, Lemieux told Little about a text exchange her son had with Janet that worried her. Little wondered about the implications of reporting the relationship and then submitted a formal complaint about Janet.
Lefler committed suicide less than a month after the complaint was filed. Lemieux says her son would not have done so had Next Step never assigned Janet to him in the first place.
"But we hold that such causal connection is too attenuated and not supported by the record," Ahlers wrote.
