Former Oregon doctor can plead Fifth in suit by dozens of patients alleging abuse, judge rules

A judge Wednesday refused to compel

former West Linn Dr. David B. Farley

to answer further

deposition question

s in a pending civil suit over patient allegations of sexual abuse, finding he lawfully invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

“He’s excused from answering questions due to that privilege,” Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Souede ruled after an hourlong hearing Wednesday.

Attorneys for more than 150 women and children suing Farley had urged the judge to order him to answer questions about his educational background, family and employment history, the business structure of the West Linn Family Health Center where he worked, the center’s policies and procedures and his involvement in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The lawsuit alleges Farley spent decades using his position as a trusted physician to sexually assault countless girls and women under the guise of providing medical care at the West Linn Family Health Center that he opened in 1989.

Farley, who has not been criminally charged but is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, answered three questions – his name, date of birth and the state where he now lives – but invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination for all other questions during his Sept. 11, 2024, deposition, according to attorney Scott Schauermann, one of the lawyers representing Farley in the civil case.

The judge said that while questions about where Farley went to medical school or the name of his wife appear to be innocuous and could be found in a public record, they also could serve as a “lead or a clue” that could be “reasonably calculated to lead to discovery of admissible evidence” in a criminal prosecution of Farley.

Attorney Courtney Thom, who represents the women and children suing, had argued for a second deposition of Farley to compel him to answer basic questions.

While she said she recognized that Farley has a fundamental constitutional right against self-incrimination, she argued that she did not see how answers to such background questions would provide evidence “necessary to prosecution.”

“It might be useful but it’s not necessary and that’s the standard,” Thom told the judge.

Attorney James Hiller, who also represents Farley in the civil case and appeared by video from Scotland, countered that case law says it must be “perfectly clear” that an answer to a question in a deposition “cannot possibly be incriminating.”

“None of these questions pass that standard,” he said.

The judge agreed.

“How defendant Farley was trained in medical school is arguably, or perhaps obviously, more potentially incriminating than where he went to medical school,” Souede said. “But the where is an important step in all of that. It is, in the words of the 9th Circuit … a lead or a clue to evidence having a tendency to incriminate that is sufficient to render the Fifth Amendment applicable.”

A 10-week civil trial is scheduled for Jan. 6.

By then, lawyers for the women and children who filed suit and the defendants, including Farley, the West Linn Family Health Center, Legacy Health and Providence Hospital, must come to agreement on which six of the more than 150 plaintiffs will be selected to serve as the plaintiffs at trial.

In October 2020, the Oregon Medical Board revoked Farley’s license and issued a $20,000 civil penalty against him for unprofessional conduct and repeated negligence.

Farley admitted to taking photos of the genitals and breasts of five patients, all under 18, according to board records. He claimed he provided consent forms for the minor’s parents to sign but could not provide the records. Farley said he deleted the photos from his phone and shredded the consent forms, according to board documents.

He initially moved to Idaho shortly after he announced his retirement but now lives in Utah. He was not present in court for Wednesday’s hearing.

West Linn police initially investigated sexual abuse allegations against Farley but a Clackamas County grand jury declined to issue an indictment. The Oregon Department of Justice is continuing to investigate Farley, its spokesperson said this week.

Defense attorney Stephen Houze, representing Farley in the criminal investigation, attended Wednesday’s hearing but did not address Souede.

— Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X


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