Jin v. Choi
- Stewart Aaron
- 1:20-cv-09129
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Jin v. Choi, Judge Aaron ordered Choi to produce his Columbia STI records and report on production efforts.
Yutong Jin and Solomon Choi, concerning production of Choi’s sexually transmitted infection testing records from Columbia University.
What happened
In Jin v. Choi, Yutong Jin asked about several subpoenas concerning Solomon Choi’s records from Columbia University. The court explained that earlier orders addressed different requests: one concerned phone recordings about authorization to release medical records, while another concerned Choi’s sexually transmitted infection and laboratory testing results.
The court said Jin’s self-represented status did not prevent her from using subpoenas. The court clerk must issue a requested subpoena, but Jin must follow the rules governing subpoenas, including the requirement to avoid unreasonable burden or expense. Because Choi had already been ordered to seek his testing records, the court said having him provide the records was the most efficient approach.
Judge Stewart D. Aaron ordered Choi to provide Jin complete copies of the testing records he receives from Columbia within two business days, together with a certification from his lawyer that the copies are exact. Judge Aaron also ordered Choi to file a letter by May 14, 2021, reporting on the production or his efforts to obtain the records.
The detailed version
- Jin v. Choi · No. 1:20-cv-09129
- Stewart Aaron
- May 7, 2021
Background
The court considered Yutong Jin’s May 5, 2021 letter about subpoenas she had served or wanted to serve. Jin believed two earlier orders were inconsistent. The court explained that they addressed different subjects. The April 23 order concerned Jin’s proposed subpoena for phone recordings from Columbia University about whether Solomon Choi had authorized Columbia to release his medical records. The May 4 order concerned Jin’s proposed subpoena for Choi’s sexually transmitted infection and laboratory testing results from Columbia.
The court had previously ordered Choi to make diligent efforts to obtain all of his sexually transmitted infection test results for the six months before January 8, 2019, the date of the incident at issue, and to produce those records to Jin.
Subpoenas and self-represented litigation
The court rejected Jin’s concern that proceeding without a lawyer prevented her from using subpoenas. A subpoena is a formal demand for documents or information. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45, the court clerk must issue a requested subpoena to a party, although the party must comply with the rule’s requirements. Those requirements include taking reasonable steps to avoid imposing an undue burden or expense on the person receiving the subpoena.
The court found that having Choi provide the testing records was the most efficient way to obtain them. Although Jin was concerned that Choi might withhold records or interfere with the records she received, the court stated that Choi was represented by counsel and that the court could rely on representations by counsel about whether the production was complete.
Order
The court ordered Choi to provide Jin a full and complete set of the sexually transmitted infection testing records he receives from Columbia within two business days after receiving them. Choi’s counsel must also certify that the records produced are exact copies of the records received from Columbia. The court further ordered Choi to file a letter by May 14, 2021, stating the status of the production or, if he had not received the records, the status of his efforts to obtain them. The opinion is a discovery order and does not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.