Goldstein v. Montefiore Medical Center

Background

Sheldon Goldstein requested additional discovery in his action against Montefiore Medical Center and other defendants. He asked for Defendant Matthias Eikermann to sit for two more hours of deposition testimony and for the defendants to produce information about his comparators.

The defendants responded that Goldstein had wasted time during Eikermann’s deposition. They also argued that Eikermann had substantively answered Goldstein’s questions about comparators to the extent he had personal knowledge. The court reviewed the parties’ written submissions, excerpts from Eikermann’s deposition transcript, and arguments from counsel.

Ruling

The court ordered the defendants to produce by February 15, 2024, redacted copies of employment records from January 1, 2021, through the present for any anesthesiologist working at Montefiore who received a disability-related accommodation during that period, whether through a formal or informal request. The records could be redacted to conceal the anesthesiologists’ names and health conditions.

The court also ordered Eikermann to appear for an additional two hours of deposition testimony by February 26, 2024. The questioning could address only his personal knowledge of: (1) disability-related accommodations received during the relevant period by Montefiore anesthesiologists; (2) the disability category experienced by an anesthesiologist who received such an accommodation; and (3) the formal or informal performance reviews and evaluations of such anesthesiologists during that period.

The court explained that comparator discovery is relevant in disability-discrimination cases and that Eikermann had declined to answer appropriate questions about comparators. Each party was ordered to bear its own fees and costs. The Clerk of Court was asked to terminate ECF 35, the filing containing Goldstein’s request. Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky signed the order as a United States Magistrate Judge.