ABC v. DEF

Filing 160

ORDER granting 159 Letter Motion to Seal. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Kenneth M. Karas on 5/22/2023) (ks)

Case
7:18-cv-08892-KMK-AEK Document 160 Filed 05/22/23 Page 1 of 2
Case 7:18-cv-08892-KMK-AEK Document 159 Filed 05/19/23 Page 1 of 2

Law Office of Heidi A. Wendel PLLC
May 19, 2023
Filed by ECF
Hon. Kenneth M. Karas
United States District Judge
Southern District of New York
300 Quarropas Street
White Plains, New York 10601-4150

Re :

U.S. and State of New York ex rel. Munford v. Maranatha Human Svcs., et al.
18 CV 8892 (KMK)

Dear Judge Karas:
Plaintiff-Relator Stephanie Munford respectfully submits this letter motion, pursuant to
Rule IX of the Court's Individual Rules of Practice, to request permission to redact portions of
certain exhibits that will be submitted in opposition to Defendant Maranatha Human Services,
Inc.'s ("Maranatha's") summary judgment motion. We have conferred with Maranatha's counsel,
which consents to the proposed redactions. The proposed redactions are briefly summarized in
the table below:
Exhibit1

Exhibit N (excerpt of the deposition of Kate
Mullaly, Accountant at Maranatha)
Exhibit O (excerpt of the deposition of
Tiffany Harris, Program Director at
Maranatha)
Exhibit QQ (letter to Ms. Munford from Al
Coley)
Exhibit WW (spreadsheets prepared by Ms.
Mullaly)
Exhibit BBB (letter to Ms. Munford from
Rosalind Medley, Compliance Officer for
Maranatha)
Exhibit III (email from Ms. Harris to others at
Maranatha)

Summary Description of Information
Redacted
Patient names

Patient names

Ms. Munford's home (street) address
Patient names
Ms. Munford's home (street) address

Patient names

As is evident from the table above, the redactions are not substantive and are designed
solely to protect personally identifiable information from public disclosure. Some of the
All exhibit references are to documents that will be attached to the Declaration of Heidi A.
Wendel, Esq., which will be submitted on behalf of Plaintiff-Relator in opposition to
Maranatha's summary judgment motion.
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Document 159

proposed redactions (i.e. , patient names) relate to the provision of medical care to third parties.
That information is protected from disclosure by the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"), 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 these courts have permitted the redaction of such information from filed
documents. Offor v. Mercy Med. Ctr. ,167 F. Supp. 3d 414, 445 (S .D.N.Y. Mar. 10, 2016), aff'd
in relevant part, vacated in part, and remanded, 676 Fed. App'x. 51 (2d Cir. 2017) (summary
order).
Other proposed redactions relate to the home address of Plaintiff-Relator. This Court has
previously granted motions to redact similar information. See Rojas v. Triborough Bridge and
Tunnel Auth., 2022WL 773309, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 14, 2022) (granting motion to seal to the
extent it covered "confidential personal information relating to 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) (permitting certain personal information, such as home address, to be
protected from public disclosure where it had "no bearing" on issues and stating that such
information "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 involve material that is likely to be in any way relevant
to the Court's consideration of Plaintiff-Relator's opposition to Maranatha's summary judgment
motion. Accordingly, Plaintiff-Relator respectfully requests that her unopposed motion to redact
certain portions of the exhibits she will be filing be granted.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Respectfully,

Heidi A. Wendel
Heidi A. Wendel
cc:

Chris Stevens, Nixon Peabody
Tina Sciocchetti, Nixon Peabody
Michael J. Lingle, Nixon Peabody

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