Supplemental Motion for an Expedited Ruling on the Motion for an Order Compelling Production of Certain Computer Tapes; Lief Affidavit

     [||8839554e-8122-4c8d-bce7-fcd355313a31||] IN THE 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA 

HAMMOND DIVISION 

  

BERNICE TERRY, et al., 

Plaintiffs, 

v. : NO. H 76-373 

METHODIST HOSPITAL OF GARY, INC., - 

et al. , : 

Defendants. 

  

  

RICHARD GORDON HATCHER, et al., : 

Plaintiffs, 

v. : NO. H 77-154 

METHODIST HOSPITAL OF GARY, INC., 

et al., 

Defendants. 

  

PLAINTIFFS' SUPPLEMENTAL MOTION FOR AN EXPEDITED 

RULING ON THE MOTION FOR AN ORDER COMPELLING 

PRODUCTION BY DEFENDANT METHODIST HOSPITAL 

OF CERTAIN COMPUTER TAPES 

Pursuant to Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure, plaintiffs respectfully move this Court for 

an expedited decision on the Motion of Plaintiffs for 

an Order Compelling Production by defendant Methodist 

Hospital of certain Computer Tapes on the grounds that 

the Computer Tapes requested contain relevant data on 

 



  

defendant's employees and patients; that it will take 

approximately one month after the conv grants the order 

to obtain the Tapes; and that plaintiffs require time to 

analyze the Tapes prior to trial. Additional reasons 

are set forth in the accompanying affidavit of Beth J. 

Lief, counsel for plaintiffs. 

Respectfully submitted, 

  

JACK GREENBERG 

BETH J. LIEP 

BRENT E. SIMMONS 

10 Columbus Circle 

Suite 2030 

New York, New York 10019 

JULIAN B. ALLEN 

2009 Broadway 

Gary, Indiana 46410 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

 



  

IN THE 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA 

HAMMOND DIVISION 

  

BERNICE TERRY, et al., 

Plaintiffs, : 

v. : NO. H 76-373 

METHODIST HOSPITAL OF GARY, INC., 2 

et al., : 

Defendants. 3 

  

  

RICHARD GORDON HATCHER, et al., 3 

  

Plaintiffs, 

Vv. NO. BH 77-154 

METHODIST HOSPITAL OF GARY, INC., : 
et al., : 

Defendants. : 

: AFFIDAVIT 

STATE OF NEW YORK ) 

) SS. 

COUNTY OF NEW YORK) 

Beth J. Lief, being duly sworn, deposes and says: 

l. I am counsel for plaintiffs in the above- 

entitled actions and make this affidavit in support of 

Plaintiffs' Supplemental Motion for an Expedited Ruling on 

the Motion for an Order Compelling Production by Defendant 

Methodist Hospital of Certain Computer Tapes. 

2. The tapes requested from Health Information 

 



  

Services contain data on employees at Gary Methodist 

Hospital and Broadway Methodist Hospital; their positions, 

seniority, overtime, pay scale and other data which is 

crucial to an analysis of plaintiffs' claims that Gary 

Methodist Hospital is understaffed, that nurses at Gary 

Methodist Hospital work more overtime than the nurses at 

Broadway Methodist, and that the transfer of employees 

from Gary Methodist Hospital to Broadway Methodist Hospital 

at the time Broadway Methodist Hospital was opened was 

discriminatory. 

3. In communications with me, attorneys for 

Methodist Hospital do not dispute the relevance of the 

above material, but argue that the data raises questions as 

to violations of the right to privacy. That issue can be 

disposed of in two ways: (1) plaintiffs will sign a pro- 

tective order involving all tapes; (2) plaintiffs will not 

decode the tapes as to the names of employees since plaintiffs 

are not interested in obtaining any names. 

4. The information on the tapes requested from the 

Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities includes 

data on patients at Gary Methodist Hospital and Broadway 

Methodist Hospital: the address of patients, number of days 

in hospital, diagnosis, treatment, and method of admission 

and payment. Such data is obviously relevant to a large part 

of plaintiffs' claims relating to service areas of the hospitals, 

treatment, segregation, and quality of care. Any concerns as 

to privacy can, as with the employee tapes, be remedied by a 

protective order and an agreement not to decode patients names. 

 



  

5. As noted in the affidavit of Brent Simmons, 

submitted in support of Plaintiffs' Motion for an Order 

Compelling Production by Defendant Methodist Hospital of 

Certain Computer Tapes, cases have consistently held that 

plaintiffs are entitled to production of tapes, regardless 

of the availability of data in readable print-out form. 

Plaintiffs require the tapes in order that they may make 

a number of computer runs which produce varying and different 

analyses of the data. 

6. As noted in the correspondence attached to the 

Motion to Compel, it will take approximately one month to 

prepare the tapes after this Court grants an order compelling 

production. For this reason, it is important that the Court 

speedily rule on the motion. 

Respectfully submitted, 

L 

N 2 nF 3 j A Fi F § 

A 5 Eg . i \ L. =” men 

  

Beth J. Lief 

Sworn to before me this 

201% day of December, 1977. 

lai Notary PuBlic 
  

Joe/ Cerser 
Ao. 5287/97 

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SELON Exprrtr [Torch Jo, /272P 

Peal fied 

2/4 Comp; 

 



  

Certificate of Service 
  

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing 

Plaintiffs' Supplemental Motion For An Expedited Ruling 
  

on the Motion For An Order Compelling Production by 
  

Defendant Methodist Hospital of Certain Computer Tapes, 

and Affidavit of Beth E. Lief in support thereof, 
was served by United States mail, postage prepaid, on 

  

pe 

the J ~ day of December ' 1977, on counsel for 
  

defendants as follows: 

Rebecca L. Ross, Esq. 
Department of Justice 
10th and Pennsylvania Avenue 
Washington D.C. 

Marvin G. Garvin, Esq. and Edward L. Koven, 
Regional Attorney and General Attorney 
Department of Health, Education and Welfare 
300 South Wacker Drive, 18th Floor 
Chicago, Illinois 

Fred W. Grady, Esq. 
Assistant United States Attorney 
Northern District of Indiana 
Federal Building, 502 State Street 
Hammond, Indiana 46325 

Attorneys for Defendant Secretary of Health, 
Education and Welfare 

Hodges, Davis, Gruenberg, Compton & Sayers 
Bruce E. Sayers, Esq. 

5525 Broadway 
Gary, Indiana 46401 

Attorneys for Defendant Methodist Hospital 
of Gary, Inc. 

Theodore L. Sendak, Esq. 
Assistant Attorney General of Indiana 
219 State House 

Indianapolis, Indiana 

Attorneys for State Defendants 

Esq. 

 



  

Anthony DeBonis, Jr., Esq. 
Joseph E. Costanza, Esq. 
Murphy, McAtee, Murphy & Costanza 
First National Bank Building 
720 W. Chicago Avenue 
East Chicago, Indiana 46312 

Attorneys for Defendant Kipton Kaplan 

  

Beth J. Lief 

Counsel for Plaintiffs. [||8839554e-8122-4c8d-bce7-fcd355313a31||]