Filed: May 05, 2015
Latest Update: May 05, 2015
Summary: ORDER CAROLYN K. DELANEY , Magistrate Judge . Petitioner requests that the April 15, 2015 declaration of investigator Dorothy Ballew, submitted in support of petitioner's pending motion to perpetuate testimony, be filed under seal. 1 Petitioner argues sealing is justified because the declaration contains private medical information of non-parties. Petitioner relies primarily upon the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPPA"). Respondent opposes the request becau
Summary: ORDER CAROLYN K. DELANEY , Magistrate Judge . Petitioner requests that the April 15, 2015 declaration of investigator Dorothy Ballew, submitted in support of petitioner's pending motion to perpetuate testimony, be filed under seal. 1 Petitioner argues sealing is justified because the declaration contains private medical information of non-parties. Petitioner relies primarily upon the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPPA"). Respondent opposes the request becaus..
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ORDER
CAROLYN K. DELANEY, Magistrate Judge.
Petitioner requests that the April 15, 2015 declaration of investigator Dorothy Ballew, submitted in support of petitioner's pending motion to perpetuate testimony, be filed under seal.1 Petitioner argues sealing is justified because the declaration contains private medical information of non-parties. Petitioner relies primarily upon the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPPA"). Respondent opposes the request because the medical information contained in the declaration does not amount to "medical records" under HIPPA.
Ms. Ballew's declaration describes her conversations regarding the medical condition of a mitigation witness and a juror.2 While there is a presumption of public access to judicial records, this presumption may be overcome by a showing of a "real and substantial" privacy interest. Eugene S. v. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, 663 F.3d 1124, 1135-36 (10th Cir. 2011). Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)(1), the court may, upon a showing of good cause, enter an order "to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense." See Kamakana v. Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006) (party must show good cause to justify sealing information relating to a non-dispositive matter). A non-party's medical information is certainly the sort of private information that may be entitled to protection. Eugene S., 663 F.3d at 1135-36 (sealing documents that included "the name of, and/or personal and private medical information" of a non-party).
In the present case, the court finds the public interest in the medical information of the non-parties described in petitioner's submitted declaration is minimal.3 While the declaration does not contain medical records, it contains a report of statements, or what amounts to statements, by persons with knowledge of these non-parties' medical history. The court finds good cause to seal Ms. Ballew's declaration.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows:
1. The Clerk of the Court is directed to file under seal the following documents: petitioner's April 15, 2015 Request to Seal; respondent's April 24, 2015 Opposition; and petitioner's April 27, 2015 Reply.
2. The Clerk is also directed to file under seal the April 15, 2015 Declaration of Dorothy Ballew.
