ABC v. DEF

Filing 156

ORDER granting 154 Letter Motion to Seal. Granted. So Ordered. (Signed by Judge Kenneth M. Karas on 3/28/23) (yv)

Case
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Case7:18-cv-08892-KMK-AEK
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Document 154 Filed 03/28/2~ Page 1 of 3

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NIXON

Nixon Peabody LLP
677 Bro adway, 10th Floo r
Alba ny, NY 12207-2996

-✓,,,._ PEABODY

I

Attorneys at law
nixonpe abody.com
@N ixonPeabodyLLP

Christopher J. Stevens
Counsel

TI 518.427. 2737
F / 833.755.3041
csteven s@ n ixon pea body .co m

March 28, 2023
Hon. Kenneth M. Karas
United States District Judge
Southern District of New York
300 Quarropas Street
White Plains, NY 10601-4150
RE: U.S. and State of New York ex rel. Munford v. Maranatha Human Services
(18-cv-8892)

Dear Judge Karas:
Defendant Maranatha Human Services ("Maranatha") respectfully submits this letter
motion, pursuant to Rule IX of Your Honor' s Individual Rules of Practice, to redact/seal portions
of certain exhibits submitted in support of its motion for summary judgment. We have conferred
with Plaintiffs counsel, who consents to the proposed redactions. The proposed redactions are
briefly summarized in the table below.
Exhibit1

Summary of'lnformation Redacted

B

Patient names

K

Home address

L

Home address

M

Patient (or potential patient) names

0

! Patient (or potential patient) names

Q

I Patient (or potential patient) names

'

!

;

'

EE

· Individual cell phone number(s)

KK

Individual cell phone number(s)

NN

Home address

All Exhibit references are to documents attached to the Declaration of Tina Sciocchetti, dated
March 28, 2023 , submitted in support ofMaranatha' s motion for summary j udgment.
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Document 154

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Summary oflnfonnation Redacted

00

Home address

pp

Home address

TT

Individual cell phone number(s)

As is evident from the above, the proposed redactions are entirely non-substantive and
designed exclusively to protect personally identifiable information from public disclosure. Some
the proposed redactions (i.e., patient names) relate to the provision, or potential provision, of
medical care to third parties. That information is protected from disclosure by the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIP AA"), Pub. L. 104-191 (1996), and/or
Department of Health Regulations. See 45 C.F.R. § 164.502(a). "Courts in this Circuit have
repeatedly held that information protected by HIP AA is not subject to a First Amendment or
common-law right of access and thus have sealed docket entries and redacted documents that
contain such information." Offor v. Mercy Med. Ctr., 167 F. supp. 3d 414,445 (S.D.N.Y. Mar.
10, 2016) aff'd in part, vacated in other part, and remanded, 676 Fed.Appx. 51 (2d Cir.
2017) (summary order).
Other proposed redactions cover the personal, private (i.e., home addresses and cell phone
numbers) of Plaintiff and/or current or former Maranatha employees. The Southern District has
previously granted motions to seal/redact similar information. See Rojas v. Triborough Bridge
and Tunnel Auth., 2022 WL 773309, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 14, 2022) (granting motion to seal to
the extent it covered "confidential personal information relating to the plaintiff," including phone
number); Anderson v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., 2020 WL 1047054, at *3
(S.D.N.Y. Mar. 4, 2020) ("[T]he Court appreciates that there is certain information contained in
the resumes, such as the applicants ' home addresses, personal phone numbers, and email
addresses, that is not public, has no bearing on this Court's Report and Recommendation on
Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, and has been recognized by courts in this Circuit as
the type of personal information that should be shielded from public disclosure.").
None of the proposed redactions cover material likely to be in any way relevant to the
Court's consideration of the instant motion. Maranatha respectfully submits that its unopposed
motion to seal/redact should therefore be granted.

Respeally f"d,

Granted.
So Ordered.

Christopher J. Stevens
Counsel

3/28/23

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Document 154

March 28, 2023
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SO ORDERED:

Honorable Kenneth M. Karas
United States District Judge