Macalou v. First Unum Life Insurance Company

Background

Anticia Macalou brought an action seeking long-term disability benefits under an employee welfare benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The letter states that Macalou’s psychiatric and psychological illnesses prevented her from performing the material duties of her occupation as an Expert Associate Partner at a business consulting firm.

The administrative record contained medical records, statements and forms from treating physicians, and summaries of medical evidence. The letter stated that approximately 1,280 of the record’s 2,051 pages contained medical records. The complaint and the parties’ trial papers also contained, or would contain, detailed references to and summaries of those records.

Sealing Request

Macalou asked the court to seal the complaint, the administrative record, the parties’ trial briefs and statements of proposed facts, opposition papers and responses, and reply trial briefs. The request covered documents that had already been filed and documents that were scheduled to be filed. In the alternative, Macalou asked that portions containing medical information be filed with redactions.

The letter applied the three-part test for sealing court documents described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga: whether the materials are judicial documents, the weight of the public-access presumption, and whether countervailing interests— including privacy interests—outweigh that presumption. The letter argued that Macalou’s privacy interest in sensitive psychiatric and psychological information outweighed the public-access presumption. The defendants did not oppose the request, and the parties submitted a stipulation identifying the documents to be sealed.

Ruling

The stipulation states that the complaint, administrative record, trial briefs and statements of proposed facts, opposition papers and responses, and reply trial briefs would be sealed and visible only to the court, the parties, and the parties’ counsel. The document is marked “SO ORDERED” and signed by P. Kevin Castel, United States District Judge.

The ruling was an ancillary order about sealing court filings. It did not resolve the underlying claim for long-term disability benefits.