TERESA RIVAS VS. MICHAEL YANCEY ET AL

Matter on the Law & Motion / Discovery calendar for Thursday, September 25, 2025, Line 10. PLAINTIFF TERESA RIVAS' Motion To Quash Deposition Subpoena For Business Records.

The court grants Plaintiff Teresa Rivas's motion to quash in part and denies it in part. The court "must balance the right of civil litigants to discover relevant facts against the privacy interests of persons subject to discovery." (Vinson v. Superior Court (1987) 43 Cal.3d 833, 843.) Although plaintiffs implicitly waive some of their right to privacy, the waiver is not unlimited. (Davis v. Superior Ct. (1992) 7 Cal.App.4th 1008, 1014 (holding that an implicit waiver of the right of privacy will encompass discovery "directly relevant" to the plaintiff's claims).) "[P]laintiffs . . . may not withhold information which relates to any physical or mental condition which they have put in issue by bringing th[e] lawsuit." (Britt v. Superior Ct. (1978) 20 Cal.3d 844, 864.)

Here, Defendants have agreed to narrow their requests to exclude any gynecological, OBGYN, sexual health, and mental health treatment. (Reyes Decl. para. 16.) Defendants have also limited the request to the 10 years prior to the incident through the present. (Nelson Decl. Ex. 3.) With those limitations, the records requested are directly relevant to Plaintiff's claim and do not invade her privacy. Rivas's desire for a first look appears based on the fear that the providers will disregard defendants' limitations.

Rivas presents no evidence that the fear is anything other than speculative. The motion to quash is denied in its entirety, conditioned on Defendant's adherence to the limitations it has placed on the subpoenaed material, to wit, that the subpoenas do not seek disclosure of any gynecological, OBGYN, sexual health, or mental health treatment and are limited by date as set out above. The court does not order the joint-look agreement that defendant proposes but nothing in this order precludes the parties from using that procedure.

Plaintiff Rivas's motion for sanctions is denied.

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