Opinion
2:13-cr-00099-JAD-PAL-1
10-05-2022
United States of America, Respondent/Plaintiff, v. Tamas Horvath, Petitioner/Defendant.
RENE L. VALLADARES Federal Public Defender Nevada State Bar No. 11479 LAUREN B. TORRE Assistant Federal Public Defender Attorney for Tamas Horvath
RENE L. VALLADARES Federal Public Defender Nevada State Bar No. 11479 LAUREN B. TORRE Assistant Federal Public Defender Attorney for Tamas Horvath
ORDER GRANTING UNOPPOSED MOTION TO SEAL EXHIBIT H - MEDICAL RECORDS (ECF NOS. 98, 105)
Jennifer A. Dorsey U.S. District Judge
Certification: This motion is timely filed per the Court's Order. ECF No. 104.
Defendant Tamas Horvath respectfully requests leave to file his mother's medical records under seal. LR IA 10-5. Undersigned counsel mistakenly failed to submit this request with the Motion for Compassionate release filing. ECF No. 97. Per this Court's order, ECF No. 104, counsel now respectfully moves this Court to seal Exhibit H to Mr. Horvath's Motion for Compassionate Release, ECF No. 97.
There is good cause to seal this document to protect Mr. Horvath's mother's medical records from being disclosed to the public. Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass'n, 605 F.3d 665, 678 (9th Cir. 2010) (“In light of the weaker public interest in nondispositive materials, we apply the ‘good cause' standard when parties wish to keep them under seal.”). Specifically, the contents of the document include his mother's birthdate, the address Mr. Horvath and his mother will share upon his release, and his mother's medical history. See Johnsen v. Tambe, No. 19-141-TSZ-MLP, 2019 WL 4014256, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 26, 2019) (“This district maintains medical records under seal as a matter of course in social security cases ‘due to the prevalence of sensitive information,' although the parties' briefs discussing the medical evidence are not sealed from public view.”); Karpenski v. Am. Gen. Life Companies, LLC, No. 2:12-CV-01569RSM, 2013 WL 5588312, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 9, 2013) (“[T]he Court finds that some but not all of the documents contain protected medical information that entitle them to the Court's protection.”).
Because Exhibit H contains sensitive, personal, identifying information, Mr. Horvath and his mother's privacy interest in the information outweighs the public's interest in the document's disclosure.
Undersigned counsel's office staff sent opposing counsel, Adam Flake, a copy of sealed Exhibit H via email on the date he entered his appearance, May 20, 2022. See Certificate of Service indicating the sealed document was served on the opposing attorney. LR IA 10-5.
Alternatively, should this Court deny Mr. Horvath's request to seal his mother's medical records, he requests the Court allow him to file a redacted exhibit removing any personal identifying information.
ORDER
With good cause appearing, IT IS ORDERED that the unopposed motion to file medical records under seal [ECF No. 105] is GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is directed to MAINTAIN THE SEAL on ECF No. 98.