Perez v. Alameda County Sheriffs' Office et al
Filing
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ORDER RESOLVING 29 Letter Brief re Discovery Dispute. Signed by Judge Jeffrey S. White on November 1, 2011. (jswlc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/1/2011)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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ASHA PEREZ,
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For the Northern District of California
United States District Court
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No. C 10-04181 JSW
Plaintiff,
v.
ORDER RESOLVING
DISCOVERY DISPUTE
ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFFS’ OFFICE,
et al.,
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Defendants.
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On October 28, 2011, the parties filed a joint letter brief outlining a discovery dispute
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over the scope of subpoenas that Defendants have issued to two of Plaintiff’s doctors. The
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Court has considered the parties’ positions, relevant legal authority and the record in this case.
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This is an employment discrimination case. However, Plaintiff also asserts claims
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against Defendants for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of
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emotional distress. In her Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that she “suffered sever emotional
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distress which has caused [her] to sustain severe, serious and permanent injuries to her
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person....” (Compl. ¶ 199.) Apart from this boilerplate language in her Complaint, Defendants
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have not put forth any information produced in discovery that Plaintiff claims she has suffered
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physical injury.
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Defendants have issued subpoenas to a mental health care provider, as well as Plaintiff’s
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primary care physician, Dr. Kara Durand. In their subpoenas, Defendants seek “any and all
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medical and mental health care records pertaining to [Plaintiff] from 1/1/03 through present.
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This request includes, without limitation, progress notes, nursing notes, physician orders,
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treatment logs, patient questionnaires or histories, tests and diagnostic results, medical reports,
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consultations, mediation records, correspondence, emails and telephone messages.”
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Plaintiff does not object to disclosure of her mental health records, and she
however, that disclosure of all of the medical records from Dr. Durand is unwarranted.
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Defendants argue, relying solely on paragraph 199 of Plaintiff’s Complaint, that “the emotional
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distress has resulted in physical symptoms for which Plaintiff takes at least five medications,”
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and that they should be permitted to challenge this claim by examining her medical records.
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According to Defendants, those records could disclose alternate causes or explanations for
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For the Northern District of California
acknowledges that he has discussed her emotional distress with Dr. Durand. Plaintiff argues,
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United States District Court
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Plaintiff’s symptoms.
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The Court finds that Defendants’ request should be limited in part. In Fitzgerald v.
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Cassil, 216 F.R.D. 632 (N.D. Cal. 2003), the court distinguished between “pure” medical
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records and medical records that involved mental health, including any records that contained
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information about physical conditions tied to mental health. Id. at 634. Because the Plaintiffs
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had not claimed that they suffered “bodily injury other than that directly and immediately linked
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to emotional distress,” the court concluded that “pure” medical records were not relevant to the
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plaintiffs’ claims or defenses. Id. The Court finds the same is true in this case. That is,
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Plaintiff has conceded that Defendants are entitled to discovery of her mental health records.
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However, based on the record, Defendants have failed to show that Plaintiff’s “pure” medical
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records are relevant or that they are reasonably likely to lead to the discover of admissible
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evidence.
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Accordingly, Defendants shall narrow the scope of the records they seek to any and all
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mental health care records, including any records that contain information about physical
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conditions tied to mental health, pertaining to [Plaintiff] from 1/1/03 through present.”
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However, the Court’s ruling is premised upon the understanding that Plaintiff does not
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seek damages for bodily injury unrelated to emotional distress. As such, Plaintiff is hereby
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placed on notice that the Court will consider a motion in limine to exclude any evidence of such
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damages if Plaintiff’s position changes. Further, the Court will consider revisiting this ruling if
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Defendants have any evidence that Plaintiff does seek damages for physical injury unrelated to
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emotional distress.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: November 1, 2011
JEFFREY S. WHITE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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For the Northern District of California
United States District Court
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