Hethcoat Quoted on Alabama Judge’s Order to Remove Confidentiality Designation from WPATH’s Video Recordings
Law360
Gayland Hethcoat was quoted on a federal judge’s order to remove the confidentiality designation from hundreds of hours of recordings of presentations and panel discussions that were produced in discovery by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which is often cited by expert witnesses in cases regarding gender-affirming care.
US District Judge Liles Burke wrote the order a month after Alabama’s attorney general and private plaintiffs stipulated to dismissal of a case challenging Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming care procedures for transgender minors.
Gayland noted that while courts usually don’t rule on discovery issues after dismissal, which often ends a court’s jurisdiction, Judge Burke emphasized provisions in the protective order under which WPATH produced the videos that governed the destruction of confidential materials after dismissal.
“Judge Burke distinguished this situation by pointing to the protective order’s post-dismissal obligations,” he said. “In doing so, the court aligned its reasoning with the idea that protective orders can impose enforceable duties that survive case closure.”
Gayland added that this decision could have implications for future cases surrounding gender-affirming care or others involving “sensitive or high-profile materials.”
“It underscores the importance of precise protective order drafting and may prompt parties in gender-affirming care litigation specifically to challenge confidentiality designations more proactively before materials become subject to destruction,” he said.
Read the full article here. (Subscription required)
Contacts
- Related Industries