Wallace v. McCarthy
- Sarah Netburn
- 1:18-cv-06525
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Susan Wallace v. Mark Esper, Magistrate Judge Netburn granted in part Esper’s motion to obtain Wallace’s medical-record releases during discovery.
Susan Wallace was ordered to provide medical-record releases, including releases concerning mental-health records, subject to limits tied to the matters alleged in the amended complaint. The defendant was directed to conduct a document search and provide responsive documents under the order’s schedule.
What happened
Susan Wallace, who was representing herself, claimed that Mark Esper, her former employer, failed to reasonably accommodate her and unlawfully ended her employment. Esper said she was removed because she could not perform her essential job duties.
The court ruled that Wallace’s medical records, including mental-health records, could be relevant to whether she could perform those duties. Because Wallace also claimed severe ongoing emotional and physical harm and sought reinstatement and compensation, the court ordered her to provide releases for the entire period requested.
Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn granted in part Esper’s motion to compel the releases. The releases had to be limited to information related to the matters alleged in the amended complaint, and the court set deadlines for the releases, document searches, discovery updates, and completion of discovery.
The detailed version
- Wallace v. McCarthy · No. 1:18-cv-06525
- Sarah Netburn
- Mar. 31, 2020
Background
The court held a telephone discovery conference on March 27, 2020, concerning issues raised in the defendant’s February 11, 2020 letter. The defendant moved to compel Susan Wallace to provide releases allowing access to her medical records. The opinion describes Wallace as representing herself.
Wallace alleged, among other claims, that the defendant—identified in the opinion as her former employer—failed to reasonably accommodate her and unlawfully terminated her employment. The defendant maintained that Wallace was removed from employment because she could not perform the essential functions of her employment.
Ruling on Medical Records
The court found that Wallace’s medical records, including mental-health records, were relevant to the dispute about her ability to perform the essential duties of her employment. Wallace also alleged that the defendant’s misconduct caused severe emotional, mental-health, and physical stress requiring substantial ongoing treatment. She sought compensatory damages for that harm and reinstatement to employment.
The court therefore held that the defendant was entitled to Wallace’s medical records, including her mental-health records, for the entire period requested. The motion to compel was granted in part. Wallace was ordered to provide the relevant releases. The defendant was directed to tailor them to information from medical providers who examined or treated Wallace, were consulted by her, or gave an opinion about her medical condition or treatment, but only as related to matters alleged in the amended complaint.
Deadlines and Discovery Schedule
Wallace had to provide executed releases consistent with the order by April 3,
- The defendant had to complete its search for outstanding responsive documents and provide them to Wallace by April 17,
- The parties had to meet and confer about remaining discovery disputes and jointly file a status letter of no more than five pages by April 24,
- Discovery was scheduled to close on May 21, 2020.
Judge
Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn issued the order on March 31, 2020, in New York, New York.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.