Melgarejo v. Allstate Insurance Company

Opinion

BLANCA ESQUERRE MELGAREJO, Case No.: 2:22-cv-00427-APG-VCF

Plaintiff Order Sealing ECF No. 7 and Directing Plaintiff to File a Redacted Version v.

ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY and DASHAWN SELBY, Defendants

Plaintiff Blanca Melgarejo attached to her motion to remand hundreds of pages of exhibits that include medical records, a traffic report, and voluntary statements. ECF No. 7. The filing violates Local Rule IC 6-1(a), which directs parties to “refrain from including” or “partially redact, where inclusion is necessary” personal identifying information, including social security numbers, dates of birth, and home addresses. “The responsibility for redacting these personal identifiers rests solely with attorneys and the parties.” LR IC 6-1(c). The filing also includes confidential medical information that appears to be unrelated to the basis for the plaintiff’s motion to remand. There is good cause for sealing the medical records attached to the non-dispositive motion to remand and requiring the plaintiff to prepare a redacted version of her filing. See Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006); Friedman v. Aranas, No. 3:17-cv-00433-MMD-WGC, 2019 WL 3502900, at *2 (D. Nev. Aug. 1, 2019) (stating that the “need to protect medical privacy qualifies as a compelling reason for sealing records” (internal quotation marks omitted)). While the plaintiff has put certain aspects of her medical condition and treatment at issue in this case, “that does not mean that the entirety of [her] medical records filed in connection with a motion (which 1} frequently contain records that pertain to unrelated medical information) need be unnecessarily broadcast to the public.” Jd. The plaintiffs interest in keeping her sensitive health information confidential outweighs the public’s need for direct access to the medical records, particularly 4! when those records are not material to the issue raised in the motion to which they are attached. 5 Consequently, I direct the clerk of court to seal ECF No. 7. I further order the plaintiff to file a redacted version of her motion consistent with the Local Rules and Kamakana. 7 I THEREFORE ORDER the clerk of court to seal ECF No. 7. 8 I FURTHER ORDER that by July 1, 2022, plaintiff Blanca Melgarejo shall file a 9 redacted version of ECF No. 7 consistent with Local Rule IC 6-1(c) and Kamakana v. City & of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006). DATED this 21st day of June, 2022. Z. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE