Maragh v. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation
- Jesse Furman
- 1:16-cv-07530
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Maragh v. Roosevelt Island, Judge Furman temporarily granted the defendants’ motion to seal investigation reports pending review of the underlying motion.
The defendants, Maragh, and RIOC employees whose information or statements appear in the investigation reports are affected by the temporary sealing order and the proposed confidentiality protections.
What happened
In Maragh v. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, the defendants asked to file two workplace-investigation reports under seal while supporting their summary judgment motion. The reports concerned an investigation of Maragh’s discrimination complaint and an investigation into complaints about Maragh’s workplace behavior.
The defendants said the reports contained private information and statements from RIOC employees who were not parties to the case. They asked the court to keep the reports confidential and limit their use to this litigation, citing concerns about privacy, candor in investigations, and possible retaliation.
Judge Jesse M. Furman temporarily granted the motion to seal. The court said it would later decide whether the materials should remain sealed or be redacted when ruling on the underlying motion, and directed the parties to submit a proposed protective order.
The detailed version
- Maragh v. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation · No. 1:16-cv-07530
- Jesse Furman
- Jan. 7, 2021
Background
The defendants submitted a letter motion asking for permission to file two documents under seal in support of an anticipated summary judgment motion. The documents were:
- The New York State Department of Labor, Division of Equal Opportunity Development’s final report concerning its investigation, conducted with the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, of Maragh’s September 2014 internal discrimination complaint. - A report by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Public Safety Department concerning its investigation into complaints of threatening and aggressive behavior by Maragh at the workplace.
The defendants stated that the documents had not been made public and included sensitive or private information and statements from RIOC employees who were not parties to the action. They also stated that some individuals who provided information expressed concern about possible reprisal.
The Request
The defendants asked to file the reports under seal and have them designated confidential for use only in the litigation. They asked that other use, reference, disclosure, or dissemination of the reports or their contents be prohibited by court order. Their letter cited Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), which allows a court to issue a protective order for good cause to protect a party or person from harm such as embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden.
Ruling
Judge Jesse M. Furman temporarily granted the motion to seal. The court stated that it would assess whether to keep the materials sealed or require redactions when deciding the underlying motion. The court directed the parties to submit a proposed protective order and cautioned that it would strike or modify any provision claiming to allow a party to file material under seal without a court order.
The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate ECF No. 152 and mail a copy of the endorsed letter motion to Maragh. The opinion does not decide the underlying summary judgment motion or make a final decision about continued sealing or redaction.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.