Murray v. The Dutchess County Department of Public Works
- Philip Halpern
- 7:17-cv-09121
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Murray v. The Dutchess County Department of Public Works, Judge Halpern granted sealing of specified medical records and ordered a public refiling.
Nelson A. Murray, the defendants, and the public’s access to the specified medical-record filings.
What happened
In Murray v. The Dutchess County Department of Public Works, Nelson A. Murray, through counsel, asked to seal medical-record exhibits filed with his opposition to the defendants’ summary-judgment motion. He cited privacy concerns because the records contained detailed information about his mental health, and the defendants consented.
The court granted the application. It allowed Exhibit J of Murray’s affirmation and Exhibits 46 and 48a of counsel’s affirmation to be filed under seal. The court directed Murray to re-file Document 131 without the sealed exhibit so the rest of that filing would remain publicly available.
Judge Philip M. Halpern directed the Clerk to strike Document 131 while retaining its docket text, seal Document 138 and its attachments so only the parties and the court could access them, and terminate the motion sequences pending at Documents 137 and 138.
The detailed version
- Murray v. The Dutchess County Department of Public Works · No. 7:17-cv-09121
- Philip Halpern
- Sept. 29, 2022
Background
Nelson A. Murray, through counsel Deirdra J. Brown, moved to seal medical records connected to his opposition to the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The request concerned Exhibit 46, described as therapy progress notes; Exhibit 48a, described as a medical report; and Document 131-10, described as therapists’ notes and also identified as Exhibit J of Murray’s affirmation. Murray argued that sealing was appropriate because the documents contained personal and detailed information about his mental health. The motion stated that opposing counsel had been consulted and consented to the request.
Ruling
The court granted the application to seal. It authorized filing under seal of Exhibit J of Murray’s affirmation and Exhibits 46 and 48a of Brown’s affirmation. The court directed Murray to re-file Document 131 without the sealed exhibit so that the remaining material would be publicly available.
The court also directed the Clerk to strike Document 131 from the docket while retaining the docket text for the record; seal Document 138 and its attachments, with access limited to the parties and the court while retaining a summary docket entry; and terminate the motion sequences pending at Documents 137 and 138.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.