Noel v. The City of New York

Background

Gordon Noel, described in the opinion as a former correction officer, sued the City of New York under the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. He alleges that his October 2022 termination violated those provisions and seeks damages including back pay and front pay.

The City served a supplemental document request seeking, among other things, Noel’s tax returns for 2018 through 2023. Noel objected that the request was overbroad and unduly burdensome. During the parties’ discussions, the City explained that it considered the returns relevant to Noel’s lost-earnings and mitigation-of-damages claims. The City also proposed obtaining the returns from the Internal Revenue Service if Noel completed an authorization form, but Noel refused to do so.

Court’s Ruling

The City asked the court to schedule a pre-motion conference concerning an anticipated motion to compel production of the tax returns. The court denied that request without prejudice of renewal. It stated that the City had not made even a preliminary showing that it was entitled to every aspect of the returns or that Noel’s W-2 forms and other evidence of post-termination employment would be insufficient to address mitigation of damages or other claims or defenses.

The court ordered Noel to produce his W-2 forms from the past five years to the City by May 28, 2024. It also directed the Clerk of Court to terminate docket entries 49 and 50. The order did not rule on whether the tax returns themselves must ultimately be produced.