Background:

• Plaintiff: H.C., a 55-year-old working in communication, was unable to work as of November 6, 2019, due to various mental health diagnoses. Her claim for Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits was initially approved but later terminated by the Defendant in March 2022.

• Defendant: SSQ Life Insurance Company Inc., contested H.C.'s entitlement to ongoing LTD benefits, claiming she was not disabled as defined by the policy and had failed to provide satisfactory evidence of her disability.

Motions:

• Defendant's Motion: SSQ Life Insurance sought an order compelling H.C. to produce both redacted and unredacted clinical notes and records of Dr. Janice Hansen, H.C.'s treating psychologist.

• Plaintiff's Cross-Motion: H.C. requested a limited sealing order to seal the exhibits containing Dr. Hansen’s clinical notes from the public record and a limited publication order to initialize the names of the parties.

Court's Decision:

• On Defendant's Motion: The court dismissed SSQ Life Insurance's motion for production of unredacted notes, finding the redacted portions irrelevant to the LTD claim and that disclosing them would potentially embarrass and prejudice H.C.

• On Plaintiff's Motion: The court granted H.C.'s motion for a sealing order and the anonymization of parties' names, recognizing the sensitive nature of the psychological records and their relevance to H.C.'s "biographical core." The decision underscored the importance of protecting individuals' privacy, especially regarding mental health issues disclosed in therapy.

• The Plaintiff was awarded costs of $7,500 all-inclusive to be paid by the Defendant.