Keesh v. Quick
- Philip Halpern
- 7:19-cv-08942
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Keesh v. Quick, Judge Halpern granted permission to seal medical information while keeping a redacted letter public.
The order protects Tyheem Keesh’s medical privacy and determines which versions of his letter are available to the public.
What happened
In Keesh v. Quick, the plaintiff asked to file a redacted letter seeking an adjournment of the trial schedule. The letter discussed the plaintiff’s medical treatment, and the defendant did not oppose the request.
The court approved the application. It ordered that the unredacted letter be filed under seal and that the redacted version remain available to the public.
Judge Philip M. Halpern ruled that protecting sensitive medical information outweighed public access because the information was unrelated to the claims or defenses in the case.
The detailed version
- Keesh v. Quick · No. 7:19-cv-08942
- Philip Halpern
- June 26, 2023
Background
The plaintiff, Tyheem Keesh, asked for permission to file a redacted version of a letter motion seeking an adjournment of the trial schedule. The letter concerned his medical treatment. The defendant did not oppose the request.
Court’s reasoning
The court recognized a general presumption that judicial documents should be publicly accessible. It also recognized that people have significant privacy interests in their medical information. The court concluded that the proposed redactions would protect sensitive medical information that had no bearing on the claims or defenses in the case.
Ruling
Judge Philip M. Halpern granted the application. The unredacted version of the plaintiff’s letter was ordered filed under seal as Document 171, while the redacted version would remain the publicly filed version as Document 172.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.