Case: In Re 2025 Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles Subpoena
2:25-cv-11183 | U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Filed Date: Nov. 21, 2025
Closed Date: Jan. 22, 2026
Clearinghouse coding complete
Case Summary
This motion was brought to challenge the Department of Justice’s subpoena of confidential medical information of children and their families related to their receipt of gender-affirming care, including highly sensitive records regarding diagnoses, clinical assessments, and informed consent.
On June 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the agency would “prioritize investigations of doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and other appropriate entities” that provide gender-affirming care. The DOJ announced “more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing transgender medical procedures on children” to hold accountable medical professionals and organizations that “mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology.”
The DOJ confirmed that one such subpoena was directed to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (“Children’s Hospital”). The Children’s Hospital, which provided medical services including counseling, puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries, shortly thereafter closed its Center for Trans Youth Health and Development and its gender-affirming care surgical program. The subpoena sought, without consent of the patients, sensitive patient information such as:
- “Documents sufficient to identify each patient (by name, date of birth, social security number, address, and parent/guardian information) who was prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy,”
- “[D]ocuments relating to the clinical indications, diagnoses, or assessments that formed the basis for prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy,” and
- “[D]ocuments relating to informed consent, patient intake, and parent or guardian authorization for minor patients…, including any disclosures about off-label use (i.e., uses not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration) and potential risks.”
The Children’s Hospital has not yet provided the subpoenaed patient records because it claims that it lacks control over such records, but the DOJ has not withdrawn the subpoena.
On November 21, 2025, the Moving Parties–parents and legal guardians of six transgender children who received gender-affirming care from the Children’s Hospital, on behalf of themselves, their children, and a proposed class of similarly situated individuals–moved to quash the DOJ’s subpoena that seeks private, identifying and/or health information of patients and their families. The Moving Parties alleged that the subpoena violated their “privacy rights, violates statutory and procedural requirements, was issued for an improper purpose, and is otherwise unreasonable.” Specifically, they alleged the subpoena was overbroad for the purpose of “pressur[ing] providers to cease offering gender-affirming care rather than to investigate specific unlawful conduct,” and violated their privacy rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and California law.
The same day, the Moving Parties filed a motion to proceed under pseudonym “[i]n light of their status as parents and legal guardians of transgender youth, and the sensitive and highly personal nature of the information and medical records at issue in this case.” They also filed a motion for class certification to certify a “class of patients who sought or received gender-related care at Children’s Hospital and their parents and guardians.”
On January 22, 2026, the Moving Parties filed a notice of dismissal without prejudice because the parties reached a settlement agreement.
The Government instructed the Children’s Hospital to redact any patient identifying information in records that are produced in response to the Subpoena, and withdrew the challenged subpoena requests described above in their entirety. The Government instructed the Children's Hospital to redact any patient information from requested documents. If, at any time before February 1, 2029, the Government plans issue a new subpoena seeking the above-mentioned challenged requested information, to rescind its redaction instructions, and/or to issue a new subpoena regarding gender related care by the Children’s Hospital that contains patient-identifying information, the Government “shall, to the extent such advance notice is legally permitted, provide advance email notice to Moving Parties’ counsel at least 28 calendar days prior to taking the foregoing actions.”
The motion to quash has now been voluntarily dismissed.
Summary Authors
Madena Mustafa (2/25/2026)
People
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71946069/parties/in-re-2025-childrens-hospital-of-los-angeles-subpoena/
Dahlquist, Scott Boyce (California)
Dixon, Meredith (California)
Dockter, Joy K. (California)
Flynn, Megan (California)
Korr, Fawn Jade (California)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71946069/in-re-2025-childrens-hospital-of-los-angeles-subpoena/
Last updated Aug. 24, 2026, 3:23 a.m.
Docket for: In Re 2025 Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles Subpoena
Case Details
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Healthcare Access and Reproductive Issues
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 21, 2025
Closing Date: Jan. 22, 2026
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Parents and legal guardians of six transgender children who received gender-affirming care from the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Withdrawn
Defendants
Federal
U.S. Department of Justice
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Other Dockets:
Central District of California 2:25-cv-11183
Special Case Type(s):
Warrant or subpoena application (or protection)
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed
Relief Sought:
Relief Granted:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Content of Injunction:
Preliminary relief request withdrawn/mooted
Issues
Discrimination Basis:
Case Summary of In Re 2025 Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles Subpoena, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/47806/ (last updated 2/25/2026).