Jane Doe 16 v. Columbia University
- Andrew Carter
- 1:20-cv-01791
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Jane Doe 16 v. Columbia University: Judge Parker extended the fact-discovery stay through August 22, 2022, while allowing limited document discovery.
The parties to the two civil actions, including Jane Doe 16 and Columbia University, were affected because fact discovery was paused through August 22, 2022. Document discovery could continue on an attorneys-eyes-only basis. The government sought the stay to protect the related criminal prosecution.
What happened
In Jane Doe 16 v. Columbia University, the government asked the court to extend a limited pause in fact discovery in two civil cases involving Columbia University. The request followed an adjournment of the criminal trial of Hadden, who is charged with enticement offenses involving alleged sexual abuse of patients.
The government said it needed two additional weeks to assess whether to seek another discovery stay after an August 10 conference in the criminal case. It argued that the short extension would protect the criminal prosecution and conserve public, private, and court resources.
Judge Katharine H. Parker ordered that fact discovery remain stayed through August 22, 2022. The order allowed document discovery to continue on an attorneys-eyes-only basis, meaning access was limited to attorneys under confidentiality protections.
The detailed version
- Jane Doe 16 v. Columbia University · No. 1:20-cv-01791
- Andrew Carter
- Aug. 8, 2022
Background
The government asked to intervene in, and temporarily pause fact discovery in, two civil actions: Jane Doe 16 et al. v. Columbia University et al., No. 20 Civ. 01791, and a related action identified in the opinion as 19 Civ. 02978. The request was connected to the criminal prosecution of Hadden, who is charged with several federal enticement offenses. The opinion states that the criminal indictment alleges that Hadden sexually abused dozens of female patients over nearly 20 years while working as an obstetrician/gynecologist.
The court had previously ordered fact discovery stayed through August 8, 2022, while allowing document discovery to proceed on an attorneys-eyes-only basis. That restriction means the documents could be accessed under a confidentiality limitation by attorneys, rather than being freely disclosed more broadly. The earlier order required the government to tell the court by August 2 whether it sought another stay.
The criminal trial had originally been scheduled to begin on September 12, 2022. On July 28, 2022, the criminal court adjourned that trial because a sufficient jury pool was unavailable, tentatively proposed November 30, 2022 as the new trial date, and scheduled an August 10 pretrial conference. The government said the new trial date could affect the scope and length of any further discovery stay, the witnesses it expected to call, and the timing of disclosures to Hadden.
Request and ruling
The government requested a two-week extension of the existing stay, through August 22, 2022. It also asked to advise the court by August 15 of its position on any additional stay and to allow the parties to state their positions afterward.
Judge Katharine H. Parker ordered that fact discovery in the two civil actions be stayed through August 22, 2022, except that document discovery could proceed on an attorneys-eyes-only basis. The opinion does not state a separate disposition of the government's proposed deadlines for later submissions beyond the order extending the stay.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.