FOIL REQUESTS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FOR DISCLOSURE OF DECEDENTS’ MEDICAL HISTORY, CAUSE OF DEATH, LOCATION OF INTERMENT, AND WHETHER THEY WERE BURIED, CREMATED, OR MADE AN ANATOMICAL GIFT, CONSTITUTE AN UNWARRANTED INVASION OF PRIVACY (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Rivera, over a dissenting opinion (three judges), determined certain categories of death-related information kept by the Department of Health (DOH) are exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL):

The issue on appeal is whether certain information about decedents that is retained and indexed by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) is subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). DOH already publishes an online database that contains a decedent’s first and last name, middle initial, date of death, age at death, gender, state file number, and residence code for deaths from 1957 to 1972. Petitioner requests disclosure of these same categories of information and any additional indexed categories of information, beyond those DOH has chosen to publish, for deaths from all available years through 2017.

Based on the record before us, we conclude DOH has shown that disclosure of a decedent’s medical history, cause of death, location of interment, and whether they were buried, cremated, or made an anatomical gift, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and this information is therefore exempt from disclosure under FOIL. Matter of Reclaim the Records v New York State Dept. of Health, 2025 NY Slip Op 03102, CtApp 5-22-25