DURAN v. EAST 185TH STREET REALTY CORP (2024)

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Raymond P. Fernandez, J.), entered on or about August 2, 2023, which, to the extent appealed and as limited by the briefs, denied defendant's cross-motion to dismiss the complaint, or, in the alternative, for an order directing plaintiff to provide all outstanding discovery or be precluded from seeking damages for alleged emotional injury, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The motion court in this action where plaintiff alleges a slip-and-fall on stairs providently exercised its discretion in denying defendant's non-tailored discovery request for all of plaintiff's mental health records dating five years back from the date of the accident.  Plaintiff's generalized allegations of depression, anxiety, fear, emotional harm, and curtailment of her daily life activities stemming from her accident did not place her entire mental health history at issue (see e.g., DiMaggio v. Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J., 228 A.D.3d 426, 427, 213 N.Y.S.3d 281 [1st Dept. 2024];  Watts v. American BD Co., 220 A.D.3d 631, 197 N.Y.S.3d 228 [1st Dept. 2023];  James v. 1620 Westchester Ave. LLC, 147 A.D.3d 575, 576, 48 N.Y.S.3d 51 [1st Dept. 2017]).  Defendant offered no grounds to find that the requested medical records are material and necessary to the claims plaintiff asserts in connection with her accident (see Abrew v. Triple C Props., LLC, 178 A.D.3d 526, 526–527, 111 N.Y.S.3d 843 [1st Dept. 2019];  see also Gumbs v. Flushing Town Ctr. III, L.P., 114 A.D.3d 573, 981 N.Y.S.2d 394 [1st Dept. 2014]).  Defendant had the burden to show that “the interests of justice significantly outweigh[ed] the need for confidentiality” to allow discovery of mental health, alcohol abuse, or substance abuse records (Mental Hygiene Law § 33.13[c][1];  22.05[b];  see James v. 1620 Westchester Ave. LLC, 147 A.D.3d 575, 576, 48 N.Y.S.3d 51 [1st Dept. 2017]).