NYU Langone Health Sys. v. Gura

2025 NY Slip Op 31515(U)
New York Supreme Court, New York County·Decided April 28, 2025·No. Index No. 652748/2023·Unpublished

Opinion

NYU Langone Health Sys. v Gura 2025 NY Slip Op 31515(U) April 28, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 652748/2023 Judge: Arlene P. Bluth Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. INDEX NO. 652748/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/28/2025

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. ARLENE P. BLUTH PART 14 Justice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 652748/2023 NYU LANGONE HEALTH SYSTEM, MOTION DATE 04/22/2025 Plaintiff, MOTION SEQ. NO. 001 -v- ALEXA GURA, AKA ALEXA B. KISSELBACH, DECISION + ORDER ON MOTION Defendant. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 were read on this motion to/for DISCOVERY .

Defendant’s motion to compel plaintiff produce certain documents and to respond to

interrogatories is granted in part and denied in part.

Background

Defendant participated in a tuition assistance benefit program run by plaintiff. According

to plaintiff, the program required that if defendant voluntarily left her employment with plaintiff

within 24 months of receiving tuition benefits, then defendant had to repay all of the money she

received from this program. Plaintiff alleges that defendant voluntarily resigned from her job

with plaintiff before the 24-month deadline had passed and so she owes the full amount she

received (allegedly $37,884.00). This is not a motion for summary judgment, however; this is a

discovery motion.

In this motion, defendant seeks to compel plaintiff to produce documents in response to

demands numbering 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 and that plaintiff provide

meaningful responses to interrogatories numbering 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. She insists that these 652748/2023 NYU LANGONE HEALTH SYSTEM, vs. GURA, ALEXA Page 1 of 11 Motion No. 001

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discovery requests relate to her affirmative defenses and so plaintiff should be compelled to

respond to them.

The Court will assess each demand in turn. However, the Court observes that plaintiff

finally responded to these demands almost a year after they were served, which is well after the

statutory deadline. “The failure of a party to challenge the propriety of a notice for discovery and

inspection pursuant to CPLR 3120 within the time prescribed by CPLR 3122 forecloses inquiry

into the propriety of the information sought, except as to material which is privileged under

CPLR 3101 or as to requests which are palpably improper” (Titleserv, Inc. v Zenobio, 210 AD2d

314, 315 [2d Dept 1994] [internal quotations and citations omitted}). “A disclosure request is

palpably improper if it seeks information of a confidential and private nature that does not appear

to be relevant to the issues in the case” (id. at 315-16).

Therefore, the Court’s analysis below is limited to whether plaintiff raised issues of

privilege or whether the information sought is palpably improper.

Demand Nos. 3 and 4

These demands ask plaintiff to:

“3. Produce all Documents and Communications Concerning the interpretation, meaning, and application of any provision of the Tuition Assistance Benefits Agreements referenced in paragraphs 3 through 8 of the Complaint, including but not limited to any internal analyses conducted by or on behalf of NYU concerning the meaning or interpretation of any provision in the Tuition Assistance Benefits Agreements

4. Produce all Documents and Communications Concerning the interpretation, meaning, and application any term of the Tuition Assistance Benefits Program referenced in paragraphs 3 through 6 of the Complaint, including but not limited to any internal analyses conducted by or on behalf of NYU concerning the meaning or interpretation of any terms in the Tuition Assistance Benefits Program

13. Produce all Documents or Communications Concerning any complaints received by or challenges made by former NYU employees or independent contractors to NYU with respect to NYU’s assertions that a former employee or

652748/2023 NYU LANGONE HEALTH SYSTEM, vs. GURA, ALEXA Page 2 of 11 Motion No. 001

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independent contractor must reimburse NYU for tuition payments disbursed under the Tuition Assistance Benefits Program or pursuant to the Tuition Assistance Benefits Agreement.

14. Produce all Documents or Communications Concerning amounts collected from former NYU employees by NYU following NYU’s assertions that a former employee or independent contractor must reimburse NYU for tuition payments disbursed under the Tuition Assistance Benefits Program or pursuant to the Tuition Assistance Benefits Agreement” (NYSCEF Doc. No. 19 at 6, 7).

Defendant contends that these documents relate to her affirmative defenses regarding the

alleged e-signature on the relevant agreements. She argues that these requests merely inquire

about how other former employees may have challenged their agreements and the conditions

under which plaintiff sought reimbursement of these benefits. Defendant maintains that it might

shed light about the consistency with which plaintiff enforces these agreements.

Plaintiff argues that these documents have nothing to do with this case and that defendant

is not entitled to records about non-parties to this case. It characterizes these requests as evidence

of a fishing expedition.

The Court finds that plaintiff must turn over records for document request numbers 3 and

4. While the Court agrees with plaintiff’s questions about the relevance of these requests, the fact

is that plaintiff waived that objection by not raising it within the timeline prescribed by the

CPLR. And plaintiff did not explain in its opposition why these requests are palpably improper.

Therefore, plaintiff must produce these records.

However, the Court declines to compel plaintiff to produce the records for requests 13 or

14 as these are palpably improper. Plainly, they seek confidential and private information about

non-parties to this case and defendant did not cite an adequate reason for why she needs this

information. The Court declines to require broad disclosure of the financial records of

individuals who have no connection to this dispute.

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Demands 8 and 9

These demands seek: “8. Produce the complete personnel records, employment file,

and/or human resources records Concerning Ms. Kisselbach, as maintained by NYU. 9. Produce

all Documents or Communications Concerning the hiring by NYU of any nurse practitioners or

the promotion of any employees or independent contractors of NYU to nurse practitioner from

January 1, 2018 through January 1, 2021” (NYSCEF Doc. No. 19 at 7).

Defendant contends that she did not voluntarily leave her employment with plaintiff and

instead was forced to leave because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She insists that she was

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