L.S.
L.S. v. Henderson
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
L.S., et al., Case No. 20-cv-04637-VC
Plaintiffs,
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND
v. DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’
MOTION FOR RELIEF
RICHARD HENDERSON, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 49 Defendants.
The Defendants’ motion for relief from the magistrate judge’s discovery order (Dkt. No. 49) is granted in part and denied in part. As to the plaintiffs’ subpoena of Officer Henderson’s medical records at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System, those records are protected by the federal psychotherapist privilege. See Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1, 15 (1996) (holding that “confidential communications between a licensed psychotherapist and her patients in the course of diagnosis or treatment are protected from compelled disclosure under Rule 501 of the Federal Rules of Evidence”). Although counsel for Henderson failed to invoke the privilege before the magistrate judge, that failure does not constitute a waiver. As a result, the plaintiffs’ subpoena of the VA for Henderson’s records is quashed. As to the plaintiffs’ subpoena of the Long Beach Police Department to obtain records relating to the 2017…