Williams v. Noell
- Lisa Margaret Smith
- 7:16-cv-02188
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Williams v. Noell, Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith ordered production of investigative files but withheld defendants’ personnel records after a private court review.
The order affected Williams and his counsel, the defendant employees and their counsel, and the patients and Mid-Hudson Psychiatric staff whose identifying or medical information appeared in the investigative files.
What happened
In Williams v. Noell, the defendants submitted personnel records and two investigative files, including a CD, for the court’s private review. The court said the personnel records had limited relevance because the case did not include a claim against a government entity for an official policy or custom.
The court found no relevant or material documents in the personnel records, including no complaints, investigations, or discipline concerning claims that these defendants harmed patients. It therefore ordered that those records did not need to be produced.
The court, in an order by Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith, directed the defendants’ counsel to provide the investigative files and CD to the plaintiff’s counsel within 14 calendar days, subject to redactions, confidentiality protections, and certification for possible use as trial evidence.
The detailed version
- Williams v. Noell · No. 7:16-cv-02188
- Lisa Margaret Smith
- Dec. 27, 2019
Background
The defendants submitted for the court’s private review personnel records concerning Raymond Hernandez, Shane LaForge, Michele Wickham, and Noel Collins. They also submitted two investigative files concerning Kenneth Williams, including a CD. The order concerns the production of those materials in discovery.
Personnel records
The court explained that it had to balance the plaintiff’s need for disclosure against the defendants’ legitimate interest in keeping employee personnel files confidential. The court stated that the case did not include a claim under Monell v. Department of Social Services of City of New York, which limited the relevance of the personnel records. After reviewing them, the court found no documents relevant and material for discovery. In particular, it found no documents showing complaints, investigations, or discipline involving claims that the defendants harmed patients. The court therefore ruled that none of the personnel records needed to be produced.
Investigative files and CD
The court ruled that the investigative files and a copy of the CD must be produced promptly to the plaintiff’s counsel. In File #1, information identifying other patients at the location of the events had to be redacted so that the patients were identified only by their initials. Any medical information about those patients had to be kept strictly confidential. If the plaintiff’s counsel wanted to use that information during a deposition or trial, the issue had to be raised with the judge first.
For both investigative files, all personally identifying information about Mid-Hudson Psychiatric staff and employees—including home and mailing addresses—had to be redacted.
Production requirements and ruling
Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith directed the defendants’ counsel to make legible copies of the identified documents and produce them to the plaintiff’s counsel within 14 calendar days of the order. The documents had to be properly certified for possible use as trial evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 902(11). The court also reminded all parties about privacy protections under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(a) if documents were filed in the case. Finally, the Clerk was directed to return the records to the defendants’ counsel with a copy of the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.