P.T. v. The Rockefeller University

District Court, S.D. New York·Decided July 25, 2022·No. 1:21-cv-06740·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ___________________________________________x

P.T.; J.A.T.; J.T.; and M.V., Civ. No. 21-6740 (JMF) Plaintiffs, STIPULATION AND PROPOSED -against- PROTECTIVE ORDER

THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY A/K/A ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL F/K/A THE ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE AND THE ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH,

Defendant. ___________________________________________x

WHEREAS, the Parties having agreed to the following terms of confidentiality, and the Court having found that good cause exists for the issuance of an appropriately tailored confidentiality order pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it is hereby

ORDERED that the following restrictions and procedures shall apply to the information and documents exchanged by the parties in connection with the pre-trial phase of this action:

1. Counsel for any party may designate any document or information, in whole or in part, as confidential if counsel determines, in good faith, that such designated materials need protection from disclosure because they contain “Confidential Information.” Confidential Information means information, including data, summaries, and compilations derived therefrom, (a) that has not been publicly disclosed and that contains sensitive scientific, medical, financial, and/or commercial information and/or information of a personal nature, such as private information as defined in the New York SHIELD Act (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 899- aa(1)(b)); or (b) that is “Confidential Health Information,” as defined below.

a. “Confidential Health Information” shall include “patient information,” as defined in New York State Public Health Law § 18(1)(e), and/or “protected health information” and “individually identifiable health information,” as defined in 45 C.F.R. § 160.103, promulgated pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended (collectively, “HIPAA”), and which is permitted to be disclosed in the context of judicial and administrative proceedings pursuant to 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1), subject to certain requirements contained therein. Confidential Health Information includes any information that identifies an individual in any manner and is related to (1) the past, present, or future care, services, or supplies relating to the health or condition of such individual, (2) the provision of health care to such individual, or (3) the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to such individual. Confidential Health Information includes medical bills, claim forms, charge sheets, medical records or cards, medical charts, test results, prescriptions, medical notes and dictation, medical invoices, itemized billing statements, remittance advice forms, explanations of benefits, checks in payment of medical services or supplies, medical notices and requests, social security numbers, and similar information. Confidential Health Information includes all notes, summaries, compilations, extracts, abstracts, or oral communications that contain, are based on, or are derived from Confidential Health Information. Confidential Health Information also includes any materials subject to the confidentiality provisions of any applicable federal, state, or local law, including, but not limited to the New York Public Health Law, New York Civil Practice Law & Rules § 4504, other applicable privacy laws, or any applicable statutory or common law. For the avoidance of doubt, Confidential Health Information may include information pertaining to medical or mental health treatment.

2. Except as set forth in paragraph 10, information and documents designated by a party as Confidential Information will be stamped “CONFIDENTIAL.” Materials that are identified by a non-party as Confidential Information will be treated as confidential under this Order regardless of whether the non-party is or becomes a signatory to this Order.

3. The Confidential Information disclosed will be held and used by the person receiving such information solely for use in this action. No party receiving Confidential Information may disseminate or cause the dissemination of any Confidential Information to any person not reasonably involved in the prosecution, defense, settlement, or related insurance coverage litigation (“Coverage Litigation”) of this action.

4. Nothing in this Order will affect or restrict a party’s maintenance, use, and/or disclosure of its own documents or information produced in this action. Disclosures (other than public disclosures) by a party of its own documents or information will not affect any designation as Confidential Information under this Order. Nothing in this Order will prevent or restrict counsel from rendering advice to their clients, and in the course thereof, relying on an examination of Confidential Information.

5. In the event a party challenges another party’s designation of confidentiality, counsel shall make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute, and in the absence of a resolution, the challenging party may seek resolution by the Court. Nothing in this Protective Order constitutes an admission by any party that Confidential Information disclosed in this case is relevant or admissible. Each party reserves the right to object to the use or admissibility of the Confidential Information.

6. Confidential Information shall not be disclosed to any person, except:

a. The requesting party and counsel, including in-house counsel; b. Employees or vendors of such counsel assigned to and necessary to assist in this action; c. Consultants, experts or mock jurors assisting in the prosecution or defense of this action, to the extent deemed necessary by counsel; d. Any insurers and reinsurers of the parties, including their counsel, experts, and/or consultants in the Coverage Litigation, upon the appropriate entry of a confidentiality order in the Coverage Litigation and the insurers, reinsurers, their counsel, experts, and consultants agreeing to be bound by that order’s terms; e. The Court (including the mediator, or other person having access to any Confidential Information by virtue of his or her position with the Court) in this action; and f. Any court reporter and associated support staff employed in this action.

7. Before disclosing or displaying the Confidential Information to any person listed in paragraph 6, counsel for the receiving party must:

a. Inform the person of the confidential nature of the information or documents; b. Inform the person that this Court has enjoined the use of the information or documents by him/her for any purpose other than this action and has enjoined the disclosure of the information or documents to any other person; and c. Require each such person to sign an agreement to be bound by this Order in the form attached hereto.

8. Notwithstanding the limitations on the use and disclosure of Confidential Information in this Order, nothing in this Order shall be construed as (i) limiting any waiver of physician-patient privilege by a plaintiff by reason of bringing this action and asserting claims for damages, or (ii) limiting or preventing a defendant from disclosing a plaintiff’s patient-identifying information to the extent necessary in seeking third party discovery, in accordance with the parties’ So Ordered Joint Stipulation for Order on Plaintiffs’ Anonymity (ECF No. 46) (“Anonymity Order”).

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P.T. v. The Rockefeller University, (S.D.N.Y. 2022).

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