Kwasnik v. Oxford Health Insurance, Inc.
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:22-cv-04767
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Kwasnik v. Oxford Health Insurance, Judge Caproni denied without prejudice the request to seal defendants’ opposition materials.
The plaintiff and defendants Oxford Health Insurance, Inc. and IPRO, in connection with exhibits filed in opposition to the plaintiff’s motion to remand.
What happened
In Kwasnik v. Oxford Health Insurance, Inc., the plaintiff asked the court to seal exhibits filed by defendants Oxford and IPRO in opposition to the plaintiff’s request to send the case back to another court. The plaintiff said the exhibits disclosed sensitive medical information that was unnecessary to deciding the request.
The court denied the sealing request without prejudice because the plaintiff did not identify which information or exhibits required sealing. The court directed the parties to discuss confidentiality and sealing and set deadlines for any renewed sealing motion and opposition.
Judge Valerie Caproni issued the order on August 8, 2022. She instructed the parties to follow the sealing standards described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. and the court’s individual practices.
The detailed version
- Kwasnik v. Oxford Health Insurance, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-04767
- Valerie Caproni
- Aug. 8, 2022
Background
The plaintiff filed a letter-motion asking the court to seal exhibits submitted by both defendants in opposition to the plaintiff’s motion to remand. The plaintiff asserted that defendant IPRO had published sensitive medical information and that Oxford’s exhibits also contained sensitive information. The plaintiff argued that the information was unnecessary because only the external review holding was needed.
Court’s ruling
The court denied the application without prejudice. It found that the plaintiff’s letter-motion did not identify which information or exhibits in the defendants’ opposition brief required sealing.
Required next steps
The court ordered the parties to meet and confer about confidentiality and sealing while considering the standard described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co., 435 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2006). Any motion to seal had to be filed by August 11, 2022, and any opposition had to be filed by August 15, 2022. The court directed that sealing requests be handled under Rule 5 of its Individual Practices.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.