TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff Lyndsay Lilly Anne Keys Westbrook’s Motion to Quash Subpoenas is GRANTED.

Within ten (10) days, the parties shall meet and confer to limit the subpoena to seek only those documents relevant to Plaintiff Laurence Hilman’s whole body pain, neck pain, back pain, right shoulder pain, headaches, fear, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, and the progression and exacerbation of the same, during the time period from January 1, 2019 to present.

Plaintiff Lyndsay Lilly Anne Keys Westbrook to give notice. 

REASONING

Plaintiff Lyndsay Lilly Anne Keys Westbrook (“Plaintiff”) moves the Court for an order quashing the deposition subpoenas for production of business records served by Defendants Leo Emanuel and Sarah Emanuel (“Defendants”) on third parties Kaiser Permanente Medical Center – CVA/Custodian Of Records; Kaiser Permanente Radiology, The Central Release Of Information Unit – Billing; and Kaiser Permanente Playa Vista Medical Offices on the ground the subpoenas seek documents and information that are protected from disclosure by Plaintiff’s right to privacy in her medical information, the physician-patient privilege, and right to privacy in her financial information; and the subpoenas are overbroad in scope and time, seek information already available to Defendants, and fail to comply with timing and notice requirements.

If a subpoena requires the production of documents, the Court “may make an order quashing the subpoena entirely, modifying it, or directing compliance with it upon those terms or conditions as the court shall declare, including protective orders.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 1987.1, subd. (a).) “The court shall limit the scope of discovery if it determines that the burden, expense, or intrusiveness of that discovery clearly outweighs the likelihood that the information sought will lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2017.020, subd. (a).)

The subject subpoenas seek all medical records, films regarding treatment rendered to Plaintiff, and itemized statements of billing charges from January 1, 2016 to present.

It is axiomatic that individuals have a right to privacy in their medical records. (Grafilo v. Wolfsohn (2019) 33 Cal.App.5th 1024, 1034 [“patients have a right to privacy with respect to information contained in . . . medical records”].) That right to privacy is not absolute, but it is robust, and “[p]otential invasions of privacy are ordinarily evaluated by balancing the privacy interest at stake and the seriousness of the threatened invasion with the strength of legitimate and important countervailing interests.” (Ibid.) “In balancing these interests, courts should [] consider whether protective measures, safeguards, and other alternatives may minimize the privacy intrusion.” (Ibid., quotation marks and brackets omitted.)

Notably, Plaintiff has only alleged certain types of pain, headaches, fear, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and Defendants have not limited their subpoenas in that regard, i.e., they seek all medical and related billing information from January 1, 2016 to present, regardless of whether the treatment related to the above identified conditions. Defendants are not entitled to access to any and all medical records possessed by Kaiser Permanente without any limitations as to scope, as they do here. Moreover, Plaintiff alleges that the subject incident occurred on February 6, 2021, and there is no basis for the Court to conclude it is proper to allow Defendants to obtain all information for five years before the subject incident. While the time immediately prior to the incident may provide relevant information, it is not necessary to obtain information for five years before the incident to inform the defense to Plaintiff’s claims.

Accordingly, Plaintiff Lyndsay Lilly Anne Keys Westbrook’s Motion to Quash Subpoenas is GRANTED. Within ten (10) days, the parties shall meet and confer to limit the subpoena to seek only those documents relevant to Plaintiff Laurence Hilman’s whole body pain, neck pain, back pain, right shoulder pain, headaches, fear, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, and the progression and exacerbation of the same, during the time period from January 1, 2019 to present.