Murtha v. New York State Gaming Commission et al

Filing 81

ORDER granting 79 Letter Motion to Seal. Application granted. The Clerk of the Court is respectfully directed to terminate the motion sequence pending at Doc. 79. SO ORDERED.. (Signed by Judge Philip M. Halpern on 10/19/2021) (kv)

Case 7-17-cv-10040-PMH-LMS

Document 79

Filed in NYSD on 06/14/2021

Page 1 of 2

Application granted.
The Clerk of the Court is respectfully directed to
terminate the motion sequence pending at Doc. 79.

STATE OF NEW YORK
SO ORDERED.
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
LETITIA JAMES

ATTORNEY GENERAL

_______________________
Philip M. Halpern
Writer’s Direct Dial: [phone]
United States District Judge

DIVISION OF STATE COUNSEL
LITIGATION BUREAU

June 14, 2021

Dated: White Plains, New York

October 19, 2021
Via ECF
The Honorable Philip M. Halpern
United States District Judge
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse
500 Pearl Street
New York, New York 10007

Re:

Murtha v. New York State Gaming Commission et al., No. 17-cv-10040 (PMH)

Dear Judge Halpern:
The Office of the Attorney General represents defendants Brian Barry, in both his
individual capacity and his official capacity as Director of Racing Officials for the New York
State Gaming Commission, Dr. Stephanie Wolf, in her individual capacity, and Thom Kotarski,
in his individual capacity (together, “Defendants”) in the above-referenced matter. We write
pursuant to Your Honor’s Individual Rules 5(B) to request permission from the Court that a
document relating to Plaintiff’s medical records be filed under seal.
Defendants today have filed their Motion for Summary Judgment. Attached to the
Amended Declaration of Rene F. Hertzog, dated June 14, 2021 (ECF Doc. No. 69), Exhibit 17
includes medical information of Plaintiff James Murtha. The document was produced by
Defendants in this action from the New York State Gaming Commission’s records. A redacted
copy of this exhibit was filed today. ECF Doc. No. 69-15. The Court previously granted the
sealing order for redactions made to paragraph 100 of the Rule 56.1 Statement of Facts on the
basis that the text redacted cited to or summarized this exhibits. ECF Doc. No. 63. The
undersigned conferred with Plaintiff’s counsel to assess the need for protecting this information
from public viewing, and Plaintiff has confirmed that he desires that this document be filed under
seal.
Medical records are of the type of document warranting caution before being placed on
the public docket. See, e.g., Valentini v. Group Health Incorporated, 2020 WL 7646892, 20-CV9526 (JPC), at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 2020). Defendants have narrowly tailored the request by
partially redacting the sensitive information within the document. See, e.g., Lugosch v. Pyramid
Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110, 119-20 (2d Cir. 2006). As required by Your Honor’s Individual
28 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10005 ● Tel.: [phone] ● Fax: [phone] (Not For Service of Papers)
www.ag.ny.gov

Case 7-17-cv-10040-PMH-LMS

Document 79

Filed in NYSD on 06/14/2021

Hon. Philip M. Halpern
June 14, 2021

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Rules, Rule 5(B), Defendants are also filing the unredacted document under seal.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

cc: Via ECF
Counsel of Record

Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Rene F. Hertzog
Rene F. Hertzog
Assistant Attorney General

28 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10005 ● Tel.: [phone] ● Fax: [phone] (Not For Service of Papers)
www.ag.ny.gov