Doe v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company

1 HON. RICARDO S. MARTINEZ

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE JANE DOE, Case No. C22-491RSM 13 Plaintiff STIPULATED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO 14 v. FILE “ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD” UNDER SEAL AND ORDER LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, NOTED FOR HEARING: May 24, 2022 17 Defendant.

I. Relief Requested The parties respectfully move the Court, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(d) and Local Civil Rule 5(g), to order that the “Administrative Record” in this action – the defendant insurance company’s claim file – be filed under seal, without redactions.

24 II. Relevant Facts and Legal Authority 25 This action arises under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. The parties agree the Court will need to consider Defendant’s claim file STIPULATED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE RECORD to resolve the matter. Such files have come to be called the “Administrative Record” in ERISA benefit cases. Here, that file is primarily medical records and other documents addressing Plaintiff’s medical condition.

Although Local Civil Rule 5(g) establishes a strong presumption in favor of public access to court filings, the need to protect medical privacy qualifies as a “compelling reason” to allow records to be filed under seal. Karpenski v. Am. Gen. Life Companies, LLC, No. 2:12-CV- 01569-RSM, 2013 WL 5588312 at *1 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 9, 2013) (citing Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006)). See also Macon v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., No. C12-260 RAJ, 2013 WL 951013, at *5 (W.D. Wash. Mar. 12, 2013) (granting unopposed motion to seal medical records given the “private nature of the documents at issue”); Gary v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., No. 3:17-CV-01414-HZ, 2018 WL 1811470, at *3 (D. Or. Apr. 17, 2018) (“[t]he parties have not presented, and the Court is not aware of, any cases where medical information was not allowed to be filed under seal under the ‘compelling reasons’ standard.”).

17 Local Civil Rule 5.2(c) states that “in an action for benefits under the Social Security Act” the “administrative record must be filed under seal” because those “actions are entitled to special treatment due to the prevalence of sensitive information and the volume of filings.” Id. That reasoning applies to this action. Sensitive information is found throughout the claim file.

As certified below, the parties discussed whether redaction would be a suitable alternative. Due to the volume of the record, and the extensive redaction that would be necessary, the parties believe redaction is not a reasonable alternative. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(d) provides that the “court may order that a filing be made under seal without redaction” and the parties respectfully move the Court to so order here.

STIPULATED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE RECORD 1 III. Local Rule 5.2(g)(3)(A) Certification The parties certify pursuant to Local Rule 5.2(g)(3)(A) that attorneys for both parties conferred by telephone on May 23, 2022, to discuss filing the record under seal and to explore redaction and other alternatives to filing under seal. They agreed redaction was not a reasonable means to protect Plaintiff’s medical privacy, because the documents would need to be so extensively redacted.

8 IV. Conclusion 9 The parties respectfully move the Court to order that the “Administrative Record” in this action be filed under seal, without redaction.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 24th day of May 2022.

LAW OFFICE OF MEL CRAWFORD

16 By s/Mel Crawford Mel Crawford, WSBA # 22930 17 [email protected] Attorney for Plaintiff 19 OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH, SMOAK & STEWART, P.C.

21 By: s/Russell S. Buhite Russell S. Buhite, WSBA #41257 [email protected] By: s/Bensy Benjamin 24 Bensy Benjamin, WSBA #53842 [email protected] Attorneys for Defendant Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. STIPULATED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE RECORD ORDER 3 IT IS SO ORDERED. The Court GRANTS the parties’ stipulated motion and ORDERS that the administrative record in this action be filed and maintained under seal. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(d), the record need not be redacted.

DATED this 8th day of June, 2022.

9 A RICARDO S. MARTINEZ 11 CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE STIPULATED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE RECORD