Opinion ID: 2994194
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Other disclosures

Text: In addition to requiring that Denius waive his attorney-client privilege, the Authorization also permits the release of other confidential information including all records pertaining to: 1) educational, 2) financial, 3) military/veterans, 4) criminal, or 5) employment matters./6 Again, the LCD proffers no justification at this stage for requiring disclosure of this broad range of information. Denius contends that requiring him to authorize these disclosures violates his right to privacy in confidential information. The concept of ordered liberty protected by the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause has been interpreted to include the individual interest in avoiding disclosure of personal matters. Whalen v. Roe, 429 U.S. 589, 599-600 (1977); see also Nixon v. Administrator of General Servs., 433 U.S. 425, 465 (1977) (recognizing a legitimate expectation of privacy in [ ] personal communications); Pesce v. J. Sterling Morton High Sch., 830 F.2d 789, 795 (7th Cir. 1987) (The federal constitution does, of course, protect certain rights of privacy including a right of confidentiality in certain types of information.). This Court has recognized that the federal right of confidentiality might in some circumstances be implicated when a state conditions continued employment on the disclosure of private information. Pesce, 830 F.2d at 797. However, the scope and contours of this right have not been defined in this Circuit. For example, it is not clear whether the right of confidentiality covers all confidential information or only confidential information relating to certain matters. In this Circuit, the right clearly covers medical records and communications. See Anderson v. Romero, 72 F.3d 518, 522 (7th Cir. 1995) (noting the recognition of this right as early as 1992); Schaill v. Tippecanoe County Sch. Corp., 864 F.2d 1309, 1322 n.19 (7th Cir. 1989) (recognizing a substantial privacy interest in the confidentiality of medical information). But, it is not clear whether other confidential information, such as that contained in financial records, also receives similar protection under this right. Furthermore, while it is apparent that some form of balancing test would be used to determine when this right of confidentiality has been violated, that test has not been defined in this Circuit. See Pesce, 830 F.2d at 797 n.5 (noting that other courts have used either a general balancing of interests or strict scrutiny when addressing this right, and declining to define a test for use in this Circuit); see also Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Philadelphia, 812 F.2d 105, 110 (3d Cir. 1987) (noting that the majority of circuits have adopted intermediate scrutiny for required disclosures of confidential information and that some circuits have employed a compelling interest test where the intrusion was particularly egregious); cf. Nixon, 433 U.S. at 465 (balancing interests); Whalen, 429 U.S. at 601-04 (same)./7 Denius argues that it is clearly established that the state could not require the release of confidential information without at least some interest to place in the balance and some measures limiting the use of the information and protecting it from further disclosure. Although Denius alludes in his brief to the Authorization’s effect on his privacy rights in a broad range of confidential information, he only discusses with specificity his interest in medical and financial information. Therefore, we address his privacy argument with respect to these two types of information alone. See Gagan v. American Cablevision, Inc., 77 F.3d 951, 965 (7th Cir. 1996) (holding that failure to adequately develop an argument on appeal constitutes waiver).
As discussed above, this Circuit has outlined a clearly established substantial right in the confidentiality of medical information that can only be overcome by a sufficiently strong state interest. See Anderson, 72 F.3d at 522. Therefore, to the extent that the Authorization provided for the release of medical records or communications,/8 Dunlap was on notice that this type of information has constitutional protection in this Circuit and that the state cannot require its disclosure without a sufficient countervailing interest. As Dunlap has provided no interest at this stage in the proceedings that would justify requiring Denius to supply this information, we find he has not shown that he is entitled to qualified immunity on this issue. See Gustafson v. Jones, 117 F.3d 1015, 1021 (7th Cir. 1997) (recognizing that balancing tests produce a wide gray area between the clearly legal and the clearly illegal . . . . This does not mean, however, that legal certainty never exists when the law demands the consideration of a number of different factors.). We thus reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendant on this issue and remand for further proceedings.
While this Court has concluded that there is a general federal constitutional right of confidentiality, we have discussed this right only in the context of confidential medical information. See Anderson, 72 F.3d 518; Schaill, 864 F.2d at 1322 n.19; Pesce, 830 F.2d 789. Denius now urges us to find that the right of confidentiality applies to confidential financial information. Seven of our sister circuits have found that the constitutional right of privacy in confidential information covers some financial disclosures. See Sheets v. Salt Lake County, 45 F.3d 1383, 1388 (10th Cir. 1995) (finding a constitutionally protected privacy interest in matters concerning marriage, finances, and business); Doe v. City of New York, 15 F.3d 264, 267 (2d Cir. 1994) (recognizing a constitutionally protected privacy interest in financial information); Alexander v. Peffer, 993 F.2d 1348 (8th Cir. 1993) (recognizing a constitutionally protected privacy interest in highly personal medical or financial information); Walls v. City of Petersburg, 895 F.2d 188, 194 (4th Cir. 1990) (same); Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Philadelphia, 812 F.2d 105, 115 (3d Cir. 1987) (same); Plante v. Gonzalez, 575 F.2d 1119, 1135 (5th Cir. 1978) (recognizing a substantial privacy interest in confidential financial information); see also James v. City of Douglas, 941 F.2d 1539, 1543 n.7 (11th Cir. 1991) (recognizing Fifth Circuit precedent in this area finding a right to privacy in confidential financial information as binding). The only circuit to explicitly disavow such a right, and the right of confidentiality in general, is the Sixth Circuit. See J.P. v. DeSanti, 653 F.2d 1080, 1090 (6th Cir. 1981) (finding that no right of confidentiality exists under the federal constitution); Cushall v. Sundquist, 193 F.3d 466, 481 (6th Cir. 1999) (recognizing the continued vitality of the DeSanti decision). However, we explicitly recognized our disagreement with the Sixth Circuit’s approach in Anderson where we agreed with the majority of circuits that Whalen and Nixon delineate a federal right of confidentiality. 72 F.3d at 522./9 The Supreme Court has discussed the existence and extent of constitutional protection for confidential information in terms of the type of information involved and the reasonable expectation that that information would remain confidential. Nixon, 433 U.S. at 465; see also Whalen, 429 U.S. at 604. Following this logic, we held that medical information may be a form of protected confidential information because of its intimate and personal nature. See Anderson, 72 F.3d at 522; Pesce, 830 F.2d at 797. Our fellow circuit courts have applied similar reasoning to determine whether information may receive protection under the confidentiality branch of the right to privacy. See In re Crawford, 194 F.3d at 959; Doe, 15 F.3d at 267; Walls, 895 F.2d at 192, 194; Westinghouse, 638 F.2d at 579; Plante, 575 F.2d at 1134-35. Because confidential financial information may implicate substantial privacy concerns and impact other fundamental rights, we agree with the overwhelming majority of our sister circuits that some types of financial information involve the degree and kind of confidentiality that is entitled to a measure of protection under the federal constitutional right of privacy. In this case, the plaintiff has identified no specific financial information that he claims deserves constitutional protection. However, the Authorization provides for the release of a virtually limitless range of confidential financial information. Furthermore, the LCD has provided no basis for requiring this information and no explanation for how it would tailor the gathering of the information to any need it might proffer. Most importantly, the LCD has provided no guarantee that the information obtained pursuant to the Authorization would be kept confidential and only used for a legitimate government purpose. We conclude that this sweeping disclosure requirement, lacking any safeguards against misuse or further disclosure, and supported by no justification, infringes Denius’s right of privacy in confidential information. That some forms of confidential financial information may fall within the scope of the right of privacy was not clear in this Circuit at the time Dunlap made his decision not to renew Denius’s contract. While there was a trend among the majority of circuits in this direction, the conclusion was not unanimous. Therefore, we do not find that the law in this area was so clearly defined that a government official can be charged with its knowledge. We conclude that Dunlap is shielded by qualified immunity for requiring Denius to disclose confidential financial information as a condition of employment, and we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendant on this issue./10