Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_17-cv-06415/USCOURTS-cand-3_17-cv-06415-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 360
Nature of Suit: Other Personal Injury
Cause of Action: 28:1346 Tort Claim

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

 EPIFANIA NACNAC,

Plaintiff,

v.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Defendant.

Case No. CV-17-6415 JSC

ORDER RE DISPUTE ABOUT

QUALITY ASSURANCE DOCUMENTS 

Re: Dkt. No. 27

The Court is in receipt of a discovery dispute joint letter brief from the parties. (Dkt. No. 

27.) Defendant claims it inadvertently produced absolutely privileged quality assurance records 

and seeks an order requiring Plaintiff to return the documents. Plaintiff contends the documents 

are not quality assurance documents, but instead comprise an incident report which Defendant 

knowingly and intentionally produced. The Court previously ordered Defendant to produce the 

documents for in camera review, which it did on November 14, 2018.

After having reviewed the documents, the Court finds that all are “[m]edical quality 

assurance records created by or for the Department of Defense as part of a medical quality 

assurance program” and thus fall within 10 U.S.C. § 1102. As a result, such documents are 

confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed except in certain limited circumstances, none 

of which apply here. Thus, Defendant’s employee erred in providing the documents to Plaintiff.

Plaintiff’s contention that Defendant waived the privilege is unpersuasive in light of the 

statute’s mandatory and unequivocal language. Nonetheless, the Court agrees that Defendant 

unreasonably delayed in clawing the documents back and that if discovery had closed Plaintiff 

would be prejudiced by that delay. At the parties’ request, however, the Court has extended the 

fact discovery cut off. Defendant shall cooperate with Plaintiff to ensure she obtains the necessary 

discovery in light of Defendant’s claw back of documents it intentionally provided to Plaintiff.

Case 3:17-cv-06415-JSC Document 31 Filed 11/20/18 Page 1 of 2
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

This Order disposes of Docket No. 27.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: November 20, 2018

JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 3:17-cv-06415-JSC Document 31 Filed 11/20/18 Page 2 of 2