Carey v. New York State Dep't of Health, et al

> ~ ~ = Cixcersioe Gg es sy Office of the New York State Letitia James Attorney General Attorney General Writer’s Direct Dial: (212) 416-6236 VIA ECF November 20, 2025 Honorable Lorna G. Schofield United States District Court Southern District of New York Pearl Street, New York NY 10007 Re: Carey v. New York State Dep't of Health, et al, No. 23-cv-3061 (LGS) Dear Judge Schofield: This office represents the New York State Department of Health (‘DOH’) and Joshua Vinciguerra (“Defendants”) in the above-captioned action. On November 21, 2025, Defendants will be filing motions 7” Amine, including a Motion to Exclude the Testimony of PlaintifPs Proposed Expert, Steven J. Shapiro, Ph.D. I write in accordance with Rule 6 the Electronic Case Filing Rules & Instructions for the Southern District of New York (“E-Filing Rules’), and Rule I(D)(3) of this Court’s Individual Rules and Procedures for Civil Cases (“Individual Rules”), to seek permission to file a document under seal. The document reveals financial information of a non-party.

Pursuant to E-Filing Rule 21.4, “[c]aution should be exercised when filing documents that contain... Individual financial information.” One exhibit that Defendants will be filing — Exhibit I to the Declaration of Julia Busetti in Support of Defendants’ Motion to Exclude the Testimony of Plaintiffs Proposed Expert, Steven J. Shapiro, Ph.D. — 1s an excerpt of a spreadsheet that details the payroll information of a non-party employed at DOH, which constitutes individual financial information.

Pursuant to Individual Rule 1(D)(3), this letter motion includes an appendix that identifies all parties and attorneys of record who should have access to the sealed document, and Exhibit I is being filed concurrently herewith. Pursuant to Standing Order M10-468, Defendants will also provide a copy to counsel of record through means other than ECF. ‘Thank you for Your Honor’s time and consideration of this request.

Respectfully submitted, /s/ Erin R. McAlister Erin R. McAlister Assistant Attorney General cc: All Counsel of Record (via ECF and e-mail) Erin. [email protected] Litigation Bureau | 28 Liberty Street, New York NY 10005 Appendix The following parties and counsel of record should have access to the sealed document filed herewith: Parties: Plaintiff Charee Carey Defendant New York State Department of Health Defendant Josh Vinciguerra Defendant Danny Vazquez Defendant Michael Shelhamer Defendant Rick Boettcher Counsel of Record: Samuel Okwudili Maduegbuna Maduegbuna Cooper LLP Wall Street, 8th floor New York, NY 10005 (212) 232-0155 Fax: (212)-232-0156 Email: [email protected] Erin Ruth McAlister New York State Office of the Attorney General (28 Liberty) Liberty Street, 15th Floor New York, NY 10005 (212) 416-6236 Fax: 212-416-6009 Email: [email protected] Julia Alexandra Busetti New York State Office of the Attorney General Liberty Street, 17th Floor New York, NY 10005 212-416-8559 Fax: 212-416-6009 Email: [email protected] Linda Fang NYS Office of The Attorney General Liberty Street New York, NY 10005 212-416-8580 Email: [email protected] Thomas A. Capezza Capezza Hill, LLP S. Pearl Street Suite P-110 Albany, NY 12211 518-478-6065 Fax: 518-407-5661 Email: [email protected] Alexandra Von Stackelberg Capezza Hill, LLP South Pearl Street Ste P-110 Albany, NY 12207 518-478-6065 Email: [email protected] The Motion to Seal is GRANTED. "The common law right of public access to judicial documents is firmly rooted in our nation’s history,” but this right is not absolute and courts “must balance competing considerations against” the presumption of access. Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110, 119-20 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Nixon v. Warner Commce’ns., Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 599 (1978) (“[T]he decision as to access is one best left to the sound discretion of the trial court, a discretion to be exercised in light of the relevant facts and circumstances of the particular case.").

The information Defendants seek to seal is a spreadsheet with 2023 earnings and overtime information for an employee who is not a party to this action. The spreadsheet states hours worked, gross amounts earned and the identity of the employee. Because other filings refer to the name of the employee, the proposed seal is narrowly tailored to maintain the confidentiality of that information.

The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to maintain Dkt. No. 178 under seal and to close the motion at Dkt. No. 177.

Dated: December 2, 2025 New York, New York LORNA G. SCHOFIEL’ UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE