Edwards v. Clark County et al

Filing 89

ORDER that 88 Emergency Motion to Compel Copies is denied. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carl W. Hoffman on 4/21/15. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MMM)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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RONNIE EDWARDS,

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE
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DEPARTMENT, et al.,
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Defendants. )
__________________________________________)

Case No. 2:13-cv-01316-JAD-CWH
ORDER

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This matter is before the Court on Defendants Dr. Raymond Mondora and Nurse Katrina

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Simeon’s (“Defendants”) Emergency Motion to Compel Copies (doc. # 88), filed April 20, 2015. In

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the instant motion, Defendants seek to compel Plaintiff Ronnie Edwards (“Plaintiff”) to resend legible

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copies of his HIPAA authorization forms, claiming the forms previously received from Plaintiff

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contained an unverifiable signature and date.

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Rule 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) governs requests for production.

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Rule 34 permits a party to serve on another party a request to produce or allow inspection of

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documents or tangible items that are in the “responding party’s possession, custody, or control.” Fed.

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R. Civ. P. 34(a)(1). Rule 34 requests must fall within the scope of discovery as defined in Rule 26(b)

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of the FRCP. See Clark v. Vega Wholesale, Inc., 181 F.R.D. 470, 471 (D. Nev. 1998).

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As a preliminary matter, this Court notes that Plaintiff complied with Defendants’ initial

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request to submit signed and dated HIPAA authorization forms so Defendants could continue to

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request, receive, and disclose Plaintiff’s medical records from medical providers. However, this Court

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finds that Plaintiff was under no obligation to comply with Defendants’ request. As this Court

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previously held, “HIPAA regulations provide a satisfactory means for obtaining relevant medical

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records for purpose[s] of litigation without the requirement for a signed authorization by the

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party.” Lopez v. Cardenas Markets, Inc., No. 2:11-CV-00323-ECR, 2011 WL 4738111, at *3 (D.

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Nev. Oct. 5, 2011) (citing Powell v. Texvans, Inc., No. 2:09-CV-01079-LDG, 2010 WL 4791507, at

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*2 (D. Nev. Nov. 18, 2010)) (emphasis added). Given such, Defendants cannot compel Plaintiff to

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execute a HIPAA authorization for release of medical records from medical providers. Defendants

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are not without an alternative, however, and can secure copies of medical records from the relevant

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custodian pursuant to a Rule 45 subpoena. See Lopez, 2011 WL 4738111, at *3.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants’ Emergency Motion to Compel
Copies (doc. # 88) is denied.
DATED: April 21, 2015

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______________________________________
C.W. Hoffman, Jr.
United States Magistrate Judge

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