Sabic-El-Rayess v. Coll.

Request

Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess moved to file Exhibits A, B, C, D, and G under seal in connection with her motion to exclude the expert report and testimony of Dr. Jacqueline Bashkoff. She also asked to redact related portions of her memorandum of law. The filing stated that an unredacted version would be filed under seal and a partially redacted version would be filed publicly.

Materials and arguments

Exhibits A, B, and C are expert reports concerning emotional distress, including psychological evaluations and information about Sabic-El-Rayess’s health, mental health, personal history, and family. Exhibit D contains excerpts from Dr. Bashkoff’s deposition addressing information and diagnoses in those reports. Exhibit G was marked confidential in discovery by Teachers College, Columbia University, and defense counsel had confirmed that the defendant wanted it filed under seal.

The request described the three-part standard for sealing: whether the materials are judicial documents subject to a presumption of public access, the strength of that presumption, and the balance between public access and competing interests such as privacy. Sabic-El-Rayess argued that the materials were not publicly available, that the public-access presumption was particularly weak at this stage, and that her privacy interest in psychological information outweighed the public interest in full access. The request also noted that the court had previously allowed an earlier version of Dr. Bashkoff’s expert report to be filed under seal.

Ruling

Judge Furman temporarily granted the request to file the materials under seal. The court will assess whether to keep the materials sealed or redacted when deciding the underlying motions. The clerk was directed to terminate the motion. The order, as provided, does not make a final ruling on whether the sealing or redactions will remain in place.