United States v. Mount Sinai Hospital

185 F. Supp. 3d 383, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1340, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59727, 2016 WL 2587393
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMay 4, 2016
Docket13-CV-04735 (RMB) (BCM)
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 185 F. Supp. 3d 383 (United States v. Mount Sinai Hospital) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Mount Sinai Hospital, 185 F. Supp. 3d 383, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1340, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59727, 2016 WL 2587393 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER REGARDING DISCOVERY DISPUTES

BARBARA MOSES, United States Magistrate Judge

This is a qui tam action in which plaintiff-relators Xiomary Ortiz and Joseph Ga-ston (relators) allege that defendants Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Mount Sinai Radiology Associates (collectively Mount Sinai) violated the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729, et seq., and the New York State False Claims Act, N.Y. State Fin. L. §§ 187, et seq., by overcharging both the federal Medicare program and the New York State Medicaid program for radiology services performed by the Mount Sinai Outpatient Radiology Department. Now before the Court are applications by both relators and defendants for discovery rulings, including rulings as to privilege and confidentiality.1 On April 26, 2016, the Court held a conference and heard further argument regarding the applications, and now resolves the parties’ disputes as set forth below.

BACKGROUND

Relators were and are employees of Mount Sinai. In August 2010, while working in the Radiology Billing Department, Ortiz reported to her employer that she was a victim of sexual harassment committed by Daniel Dorce, a director in the same department. See Am. Compl. (Dkt. No. 27) ¶ 19. Those allegations prompted an internal investigation by the Mount Sinai Labor Relations Department. In-house attorney Marina Lowy, Esq. worked on the sexual harassment investigation and provided related legal advice to Mount Sinai, including advice concerning potential harassment claims by Ortiz. See Joint Ltr. at 8. By August 25, 2010, Dorce was [389]*389no longer employed at Mount Sinai. See Schwartz Decl. dated Dec. 17, 2014 (Dkt. No. 32), Ex. C. In March 2011, Lowy also advised Mount Sinai concerning threatened legal claims from another employee (the Employee), who was hired to replace Dorce in October 2010 and terminated in January 2011.

In September 2010, while the Ortiz sexual harassment investigation was ongoing, Ortiz and Gaston brought certain alleged billing misconduct to their employer’s attention. According to Ortiz, Dorce was responsible for much of that misconduct. See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 56-64, 76-78, 96-101. In response to the billing practices allegations, Mount Sinai conducted another internal investigation and audit (collectively the Audit), culminating in a written report, later produced to the government. The Audit was conducted by the Audit & Compliance Services Department, advised and guided by in-house attorney Sally Strauss, Esq. See Joint Ltr. at 8. On March 3, 2011, after the Audit was concluded, Mount Sinai made certain voluntary repayments to the government. Id. Ex. C. Defendants have expressly waived any attorney-client privilege or work-product protection with respect to the Audit.2

On July 9, 2013, relators filed this action under seal (Dkt. No. 1), and on May 15, 2014, after the government declined to intervene, the seal was lifted. (Dkt. No. 6.) Prior to filing suit, relators, through their counsel, submitted a written disclosure statement to the government as required by 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2) (“written disclosure of substantially all material evidence and information the [potential relator] possesses shall be served on the Government”). Counsel prepared a supplemental written disclosure statement in July 2013, along with an annotated list of relevant documents presented to the government. In the fall of 2013, while the action was under seal, attorney Strauss made notes in preparation for a meeting with the government representatives investigating the billing practices allegations. Joint Ltr. at 9. In January 2014, Ortiz also met with the government, accompanied by her litigation counsel, who took notes of the interview. Id. at 4.

DISCOVERY DISPUTES

1. Defendants ’ Privilege Assertions.

The attorney-client privilege “protects communications (1) between a client and his or her attorney (2) that are intended to be, and in fact were, kept confidential (3) for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice.” United States v. Mejia, 655 F.3d 126, 132 (2d Cir.2011) (citing In re Cty. of Erie, 473 F.3d 413, 419 (2d Cir.2007)). For the privilege to attach, the “predominant purpose of the communication” must be “to render or solicit legal advice.” In re Cty. of Erie, 473 F.3d at 420. In the context of an internal investigation, however, that test “does not require a showing that obtaining or providing legal advice was the sole purpose of [the] investigation” nor that the communications at issue “would not have [390]*390been made ‘but for’ the fact that legal advice was sought.” In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litig., 80 F.Supp.3d 521, 530 (S.D.N.Y.2015) (emphasis in the original) (quoting In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 756 F.3d 754, 759 (D.C.Cir. 2014)). As explained in General Motors:

Rare is the case that a troubled corporation will initiate an internal investigation solely for legal, rather than business, purposes; indeed, the very prospect of legal action against a company necessarily implicates larger concerns about the company’s internal procedures and controls, not to mention its bottom line.

80 F.Supp.3d at 530. The party invoking the attorney-client privilege, therefore, need only show that the provision of legal advice was a “primary purpose” of the investigation and of the communications as to which the privilege is claimed. Id.

The work product doctrine is codified, in large part, in Rule 26(b)(3)(A) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides that documents “prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial” are discoverable only upon a showing of “substantial need” for the materials and a party’s inability, without “undue hardship,” to obtain their substantial equivalent by other means. Even where this showing has been made, Rule 26(b)(3)(B) cautions that the court “must protect against disclosure of the mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, or legal theories of a party’s attorney or other representative concerning the litigation.” Documents or portions of documents that qualify as “opinion work product” are “entitled to virtually absolute protection.” United States v. Ghavami, 882 F.Supp.2d 532, 540 (S.D.N.Y.2012).

The work product doctrine “is intended to preserve a zone of privacy in which a lawyer can prepare and develop legal theories and strategy ‘with an eye toward litigation,’ free from unnecessary intrusion by his adversaries.” United States v. Adlman, 134 F.3d 1194, 1196 (2d Cir.1998) (quoting Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 510-11, 67 S.Ct. 385, 91 L.Ed. 451 (1947)).

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185 F. Supp. 3d 383, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1340, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59727, 2016 WL 2587393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mount-sinai-hospital-nysd-2016.