Wisniewski v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company et al

Filing 22

ORDER re 21 Joint Discovery Letter Brief filed by Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, Wind River Systems, Inc. Welfare Benefit Plan. Signed by Judge Jon S. Tigar on September 23, 2014. (wsn, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/23/2014)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

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MICHAEL WISNIEWSKI,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

Case No. 3:14-CV-01674-JST
(PROPOSED) ORDER RE
DISCOVERY

HARTFORD LIFE AND ACCIDENT
INSURANCE COMPANY; WIND
RIVER SYSTEMS, INC. WELFARE
BENEFIT PLAN,
Defendants.

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FOR GOOD CAUSE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that discovery in this

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ERISA action shall proceed based on Plaintiff Michael Wisniewski and Defendant

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Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company’s agreements reached in their meet

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and confer sessions. Specifically, the parties have indicated that they have agreed

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to the following:
1.

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Hartford's contract with MES Solutions, which provided Dr. Ibrahim

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Alghfeer and Dr. Thomas Golbert, will be produced under a protective order for

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the relevant time of Plaintiff’s claim and appeal.

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///
LA #4827-3347-4334 v1

CASE NO. 3:14-CV-01674-JST
(PROPOSED) ORDER RE DISCOVERY

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The communications between Hartford and MES regarding Dr.

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Alghfeer's and Dr. Golbert’s reviews as it pertains to Plaintiff’s claim, including

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billings and payment communications, will be produced.

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3.

Data regarding the number of claims MES handled for Hartford and

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the amount of money Hartford paid MES for two years before the termination will

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be produced under a protective order.

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4.

Hartford's contract with Reliable Review Services (RRS), which

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provided Drs. Dennis Payne and Roger Clark, whose reports were relied upon to

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uphold it decision on Wisniewski's appeals, will be produced under a protective

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order for the relevant time of Plaintiff’s claim and appeal.
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The communications between Hartford and RRS regarding Dr. Payne's

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and Dr. Clark’s reviews, as it pertains to the claim, including billings and payment

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communications, will be produced.

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6.

Data regarding the number of claims RRS handled for Hartford and the

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amount of money Hartford paid RRS for two years before the termination will be

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produced under a protective order.

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7.

Plaintiff will accept a copy of the claims manual index under a

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protective order and will agree to only select those portions of the claims manual

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from the index that are necessary for his claim. These will also be produced under

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a protective order.

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8.

Hartford will produce the document/template of its policy/procedure

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regarding the weight to be accorded to the Social Security Administration’s

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determinations and findings under a protective order if it cannot otherwise be

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found in the claims manual.

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9.

If Hartford is going to submit a declaration at the time of trial as to

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what steps it has taken to reduce the potential for bias as part of its briefing on the

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AR, Hartford will let Plaintiff know what is going to be in it at least 30 days

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beforehand.

B URKE , W ILLIAMS &
S ORENS EN , LLP
ATTO RNEY S AT LAW
LOS A NG EL ES

LA #4827-3347-4334 v1

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(PROPOSED) ORDER RE DISCOVERY

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Hartford will let Plaintiff know in writing whether Dr. Clark is still

working on its cases following the concerns Plaintiff raised in his appeal.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall engage in a further meet
and confer with respect to the subpoena Plaintiff seeks to issue to RRS, the third

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party vendor that retained Drs. Dennis Payne and Roger Clark. If the parties cannot

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resolve the issue, they shall submit a supplemental brief on that issue to the Court
by October 8, 2014.
S DISTRICT
TE
C
TA

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_________________________________
HON. JON S. TIGAR RED
ORDE
UNITEDIS SO
IT STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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S . Ti ga r

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n
J u d ge J o

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R NIA

September 23, 2014
DATED: ____________

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B URKE , W ILLIAMS &
S ORENS EN , LLP
ATTO RNEY S AT LAW
LOS A NG EL ES

LA #4827-3347-4334 v1

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(PROPOSED) ORDER RE DISCOVERY