Murtha v. New York State Gaming Commission

Background

Defendants Brian Barry, in both his individual and official capacities, Dr. Stephanie Wolf, individually, and Thom Kotarski, individually, asked the court for permission to file information about Plaintiff James Murtha’s medical records under seal. The request concerned portions of the defendants’ statement of undisputed material facts filed with a pre-motion conference letter for an anticipated motion for summary judgment, which is a request for judgment without a trial when the parties’ material facts are not genuinely disputed.

The request stated that the medical records had either been received through a health-record release signed by Murtha during discovery or had been produced by defendants from New York State Gaming Commission records concerning Murtha’s workers’ compensation case. The defendants had made limited redactions in paragraphs 78–81 and 100–104, which quoted or summarized statements from the medical records. Defense counsel conferred with Murtha’s counsel, and Murtha confirmed that he wanted the information filed under seal.

Court’s Action

The court granted the application. The request was narrowly limited to selected portions of the document, and the defendants also filed an unredacted version under seal identifying the redacted passages. The order directed the Clerk to terminate ECF No. 61. The opinion addressed the handling of medical-record information and did not state a ruling on the merits of the underlying dispute.