Sarruf v. Lilly Long Term Disability Plan

Opinion

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

DAVID SARRUF, Plaintiff, Case No. 2:24-cv-00461-JCC v. STIPULATED MOTION FOR LILLY LONG TERM DISABILITY PLAN & ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD UNDER SEAL AND [PROPOSED] Defendant. I. Relied Requested. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(d) and Local Civil Rule 5(g), Plaintiff David Sarruf (“Plaintiff”) and Defendants The Eli Lilly and Company Long Term Disability Plan (the “LTD Plan”)1 and The Eli Lilly and Company Life Insurance and Death Benefit Plan (the “Life Insurance Plan”)2 (together, “Defendants”) (Plaintiff and Defendants together, the “Parties”), by and through their attorneys, hereby respectfully move the Court for an order permitting Defendants to file the Administrative Record under seal, without redaction. The Parties seek leave to file the Administrative Record under seal in its entirety due to the extensive 1 The LTD Plan is incorrectly named in the Complaint as the Lilly Long Term Disability Plan. 2 The Life Insurance Plan is incorrectly named in the Complaint as the Lilly Life Insurance Plan. presence of Plaintiff’s sensitive personal medical information throughout the Administrative Record. The Parties agree that redaction is not a practical or effective alternative due to the nature and volume of the confidential material. II. Relevant Facts and Legal Authority. This action arises under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., and involves a claim for long-term disability benefits. The Administrative Record pertaining to Plaintiff’s claim is over 3,000 pages long and contains mainly Plaintiff’s medical records and documents discussing Plaintiff’s medical information. Although there is a general presumption of public access to court records, courts in this District have recognized that the need to protect medical privacy constitutes a “compelling reason” sufficient to justify sealing records. See, e.g., Karpenski v. Am. Gen. Life Cos., LLC, No. 2:12-CV-01569-RSM, 2013 WL 5588312, at *1 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 9, 2013) (granting motion to seal ERISA administrative record due to medical privacy concerns); S.L. by & through J.L. v. Cross, 675 F. Supp. 3d 1138, 1146–47 (W.D. Wash. 2023) (same). As certified below, the Parties have conferred and agree that redaction is not a viable alternative due to the density and volume of Plaintiff’s sensitive personal medical information throughout the Administrative Record. Therefore, sealing the Administrative Record is the least restrictive means of protecting Plaintiff’s privacy while complying with the Court’s filing procedures.3

3 The Administrative Record consists of the claim and appeal file as maintained by the LTD Plan in the ordinary course of business. A small number of documents in the Administrative Record appear with redactions because they were produced in that form to Plaintiff’s counsel in the course of the pre- litigation administrative review process. (See, e.g., LILLY 3109, 3111, 3112, 3114). These minor redactions—such as Plaintiff’s address, telephone number, and e-mail address—do not affect the substantive content of the Administrative Record. Accordingly, the Parties respectfully request that the Court accept the Administrative Record as filed, with the minor redactions, for in camera review. III. Certification Pursuant to LCR 5(g)(3)(A). The undersigned counsel for the Parties, Kara P. Wheatley and Glenn R. Kantor, conferred via e-mail on April 8 and April 10, 2025, regarding the need to file the Administrative Record under seal. The Parties agree that sealing is appropriate and necessary to protect Plaintiff’s confidential medical information contained therein. IV. Conclusion. For the foregoing reasons, the Parties jointly ask the Court to grant this stipulated motion to file the Administrative Record under seal. Date: April 11, 2025 Respectfully submitted, DAVID SARRUF THE ELI LILLY AND COMPANY LONG TERM DISABILITY PLAN AND THE ELI By: Glenn R. Kant or (w/ permission) LILLY AND COMPANY LIFE INSURANCE Stacy Monahan Tucker AND DEATH BENEFIT PLAN MONAHAN TUCKER LAW 14241 Woodinville-Duvall Rd. By: /s/ Douglas F. Stewart Woodinville, WA 98072 Douglas F. Stewart (#34068) Tel: 844-503-5301 Bracewell, LLP Fax: 206-800-7801 701 Fifth Ave, Suite 6850 Email: smtucker@mtlawpc.com Seattle, WA 98104 Telephone: 206-204-6200 Glenn R. Kantor (admitted pro hac vice) Fax: 800-404-3970 Brent Dorian Brehm (admitted pro hac vice) doug.stewart@bracewell.com KANTOR & KANTOR LLP 9301 Corbin Ave. Mark C. Nielson (admitted pro hac vice) Ste. 1400 Kara P. Wheatley (admitted pro hac vice) Northridge, CA 91324 GROOM LAW GROUP Tel: 818-886-2525 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 1200 Fax: 818-350-6272 Washington, DC 20006 Email: bbrehm@kantorlaw.net kwheatley@groom.com mcn@groom.com Attorneys for Plaintiff Telephone: 202-8861-6339 Facsimile: 202-659-4503

Attorneys for Defendants

[PROPOSED] ORDER THIS MATTER having come before the Court upon the Parties’ STIPULATED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD UNDER SEAL, and the Court having considered the motion and all relevant materials, and finding good cause shown, hereby ODERS: 1. The Parties’ Stipulated Motion for Leave to File the Administrative Record Under Seal is GRANTED. 2. Defendants are authorized to file the Administrative Record under seal in its entirety, without redaction. 3. The Administrative Record shall remain under seal unless otherwise ordered by the Court. IT IS SO ORDERED this 11th day of April 2025.

A

_______________________________________ THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on the 11th day of April, 2025, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to all counsel of record who receive CM/ECF notifications. Dated: April 11, 2025 By: /s/ Douglas F. Stewart Douglas F. Stewart, WSBA No. 34068