Ramirez v. Group Short Term Disability
Ramirez v. Group Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability and Life Plan for Employees of ZB Company, Inc.
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:20-cv-09624
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Ramirez v. Hartford, Judge Schofield ordered the parties to file the ERISA administrative record under seal because it contains sensitive medical and personal information.
Glenda N. Ramirez and Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, whose filing of the administrative record was required to occur under seal; the sealed record contains Ramirez’s personal and medical information.
What happened
Ramirez v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company concerns the parties’ joint request to seal the administrative record in an employee-benefits case.
Hartford stated that the record contains personal information, including a birth date, Social Security number, and home address, as well as medical diagnoses, evaluations, and records concerning Ramirez’s disability claims. Ramirez asserted that she has a privacy interest in this information.
Judge Lorna Schofield ordered the parties to file the administrative record under seal by March 11, 2021, following the court’s procedures for sealed filings.
The detailed version
- Ramirez v. Group Short Term Disability · No. 1:20-cv-09624
- Lorna Schofield
- Mar. 9, 2021
Background
The parties jointly moved for permission to file the administrative record under seal in this employee-benefits case. The record was due to be filed after an earlier court order directing Hartford to provide a complete copy.
Basis for Sealing
Hartford stated that the record contains extensive personal information, including Ramirez’s birth date, Social Security number, and home address. It also stated that the record contains protected health information, including confidential medical diagnoses, evaluations, and communications concerning more than a decade of medical records. Ramirez asserted a privacy interest in her confidential medical records and personal information.
Ruling
The court ordered the parties to file the administrative record under seal by March 11, 2021. The order directed that the proposed sealed document be filed contemporaneously under seal in the electronic filing system and electronically related to the motion. The opinion does not address the merits of Ramirez’s disability-related claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.