On November 21, 2024, in a case against a major New York City Hospital System involving claims of battery and negligence, Josh Cohen and Jesse Wang prevailed in obtaining a protective order, pursuant to NY CPLR § 3103, preventing the unnecessary disclosure of the IDs of various hospital employees.

Within the moving papers, defendants argued that plaintiff’s demands were improper, because (1) none of the employees had causes of action pending against them in the suit, (2) the medical records, correspondence, and deposition testimony of the plaintiff clearly established that there was no nexus between the employees and the plaintiff’s allegations, and (3) plaintiff provided no justification as to how disclosure of the IDs would be material or necessary to the prosecution of the case.

Ultimately, the New York County judge granted the protective order, finding that defendants effectively met their burden pursuant to NY CPLR § 3103 and that plaintiff’s demands were improper and an abuse of the tools of discovery.