Harris v. Kim
- John Koeltl
- 1:20-cv-09235
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Harris v. Oscar De La Renta, Judge Willis granted discovery requests, approved a deposition accommodation, and sealed medical information in a pro se lawsuit.
Melanie Harris, the defendants, their counsel, and public access to the medical information filed as Exhibit A, page 3, of docket entry 72.
What happened
In Melanie Harris v. Oscar De La Renta, LLC, et al., the court held a conference after defendants asked the court to require Harris, who was representing herself, to provide medical authorizations and attend a deposition.
The court granted defendants’ request. It ordered Harris to sign the requested medical authorizations, identify another physician, and sign an authorization for that physician. It also ordered her to attend a seven-hour deposition, with one hour of questioning followed by a 15-minute break. The court sealed a document containing Harris’s medical information and ordered defendants to file a version of their letter without that exhibit.
Judge Jennifer E. Willis also directed the parties to file a status update about the authorizations, deposition, and possible early settlement. The court warned that failure to follow discovery obligations or court orders could result in sanctions, including dismissal of the action.
The detailed version
- Harris v. Kim · No. 1:20-cv-09235
- John Koeltl
- Oct. 25, 2023
Background
The court held a conference on October 25, 2023. The opinion states that Melanie Harris was not represented by counsel and was proceeding without a lawyer. Defendants filed a letter motion asking the court to compel Harris to provide requested medical authorizations under the federal medical-privacy law commonly called HIPAA and to schedule and attend a deposition.
Discovery Orders
The court granted defendants’ request. It ordered Harris to sign the requested authorization forms. After Harris said that she had another physician who had not yet been disclosed, the court also ordered her to provide defendants with that physician’s name and sign a medical authorization for that doctor.
The court ordered Harris to schedule and attend a seven-hour deposition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30. As an accommodation for her medical conditions, the court granted her request for one hour of questioning followed by a 15-minute break. The court stated that it would not consider additional accommodation requests unless Harris provided a letter from a medical professional explaining what further accommodations were necessary.
The court explained that a party must comply with discovery obligations and court orders. It warned that violations could lead to sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(b)(2)(A)(v), including dismissal of the action in its entirety.
Sealing Order
Harris asked the court to remove medical information from the public record. Applying the balancing approach described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, the court weighed her privacy interests against the presumption that judicial records should be publicly accessible. The court found that Exhibit A, page 3, of defendants’ letter should be sealed.
The court ordered that the exhibit be sealed and accessible only to Harris, defendants’ counsel, and court personnel. Defendants were directed to refile the letter without the exhibit for public viewing. The Clerk was asked to change the viewing level of the docket entry to “Sealed” for court view only and to close the motion.
Further Proceedings and Disposition
The parties and the court discussed possible early resolution, including a settlement assisted by a judge or a referral to the court’s mediation program. Defendants’ counsel was directed to consult with the defendants about whether early resolution might be productive. The parties were ordered to file a status update by November 10, 2023, addressing the medical authorizations, deposition scheduling, and defendants’ position on early resolution. Defendants were also directed to obtain and provide the conference transcript to Harris and the court.
Judge Jennifer E. Willis therefore granted defendants’ discovery request, granted Harris’s requested deposition accommodation, ordered the specified discovery and deposition steps, and ordered the medical-information exhibit sealed.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.