Benanav v. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance LLC

District Court, W.D. Washington·Decided September 24, 2024·No. 2:20-cv-00421·Unknown

Opinion

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5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 9 10 STEVEN BENANAV, et al., CASE NO. 2:20-cv-00421-LK 11 Plaintiffs, ORDER REGARDING MOTIONS 12 v. TO SEAL CLASS CERTIFICATION RELATED DOCUMENTS 13 HEALTHY PAWS PET INSURANCE LLC, 14 Defendant. 15 16 This matter comes before the Court on four motions related to sealing documents 17 associated with Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification: (1) Healthy Paws’ Motion to Seal its 18 opposition to Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and supporting exhibits, Dkt. No. 229; 19 (2) Plaintiffs’ Motion to File Information Designated as “Confidential” in Open Court, Dkt. No. 20 270; (3) Healthy Paws’ Motion to Seal its Motion to Exclude the Testimony of Dr. Michael 21 Naaman, Dkt. No. 286; and (4) Healthy Paws’ Motion to Seal its Reply in Support of its Motion 22 to Exclude the Reports and Testimony of Dr. Michael Naaman, Dkt. No. 316. Having reviewed 23 24 1 the motions, the sealed documents, and the remainder of the record, the Court grants the motions 2 as set forth below. 3 I. DISCUSSION 4 The background regarding this case has been set forth in the Court’s prior orders and thus

5 will not be repeated here. See, e.g., Dkt. No. 213. The parties have filed the required certifications 6 stating that they met and conferred before filing these motions. Dkt. No. 229 at 2; Dkt. No. 270 at 7 2; Dkt. No. 286 at 2; Dkt. No. 316 at 2. 8 A. Legal Standards 9 Courts recognize a “general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, 10 including judicial records and documents.” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 11 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978)); see 12 also Oliner v. Kontrabecki, 745 F.3d 1024, 1025 (9th Cir. 2014) (“Throughout our history, the 13 open courtroom has been a fundamental feature of the American judicial system.”). Accordingly, 14 when a district court considers a sealing request, it starts with “a strong presumption in favor of

15 access to court records.” Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 16 2003). A party seeking to seal court filings bears the burden of overcoming this presumption by 17 providing “‘compelling reasons’ sufficiently specific” for doing so. Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1183. 18 There is an exception to this general presumption of access, however, when the documents 19 are only tangentially related to the merits. In that case, the party seeking to seal the records need 20 only show “good cause.” Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1097–1101, 21 (9th Cir. 2016); see also Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677–78 (9th Cir. 2010) 22 (discussing the two standards governing motions to seal documents). Notably, the more onerous 23 “compelling reasons” test is not limited to motions that are “technically ‘dispositive’”; rather, it

24 applies when “the motion is more than tangentially related to the merits of a case.” Ctr. for Auto 1 Safety, 809 F.3d at 1101; see also id. at 1098–99 (“Most litigation in a case is not literally 2 ‘dispositive,’ but nevertheless involves important issues and information to which our case law 3 demands the public should have access. . . . [P]lenty of technically nondispositive motions . . . are 4 strongly correlative to the merits of a case.”).

5 The Ninth Circuit has “emphasize[d] the difference between the ‘compelling reasons’ 6 standard and the ‘good cause’ standard[.]” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180. The “good cause” 7 standard requires the party seeking protection to show “specific prejudice or harm” for each 8 document it seeks to protect. Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1130. “Broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated 9 by specific examples or articulated reasoning,” do not suffice. Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. 10 Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992) (quoting Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 785 F.2d 1108, 11 1121 (3rd Cir. 1986)). And a “good cause” showing will not, without more, satisfy the more 12 exacting “compelling reasons” test. Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180. Under this higher “compelling 13 reasons” standard, the Court “may seal records only when it finds a compelling reason and 14 articulates the factual basis for its ruling, without relying on hypothesis or conjecture.” Ctr. for

15 Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1096–97 (cleaned up). Those compelling reasons must “outweigh the 16 general history of access and the public policies favoring disclosure[.]” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 17 1178–79. This is achieved when, for example, a court filing might “become a vehicle for improper 18 purposes,” Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598, or be used “to gratify private spite, promote public scandal, 19 circulate libelous statements, or release trade secrets,” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179; see also 20 Oliner, 745 F.3d at 1026 (party’s desire to avoid embarrassment or annoyance and prevent an 21 undue burden on his professional endeavors was not a “compelling reason”). 22 Additionally, in the Western District of Washington, parties moving to seal documents 23 must comply with the procedures established by Local Civil Rule 5(g). Under that rule, the party

24 who designates a document confidential must provide a “specific statement of the applicable legal 1 standard and the reasons for keeping a document under seal,” with an explanation of: “(i) the 2 legitimate private or public interests that warrant the relief sought; (ii) the injury that will result if 3 the relief sought is not granted; and (iii) why a less restrictive alternative to the relief sought is not 4 sufficient.” LCR 5(g)(3)(B). Where, as here, the parties have entered into a stipulated protective

5 order, “a party wishing to file a confidential document it obtained from another party in discovery 6 may file a motion to seal,” and the “party who designated the document confidential must satisfy” 7 the above showing in its response to the motion. Id. This rule provides that “[o]nly in rare 8 circumstances should a party file a motion, opposition, or reply under seal.” LCR 5(g)(5). In the 9 event that the court denies a motion to seal, the clerk will unseal the relevant document(s) unless 10 “(1) the court orders otherwise, or (2) the party who is relying on the sealed document requests in 11 the motion to seal or response that, if the motion to seal is denied, the court withdraw the document 12 from the record rather than unseal it.” LCR 5(g)(6). If a document is withdrawn for this reason, 13 “the parties shall not refer to it in any pleadings, motions or other filings, and the court will not 14 consider it.” Id.

15 The Court applies the compelling reasons standard to documents filed in connection with 16 Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification because that motion is “more than tangentially related to 17 the merits” of the underlying case. Ctr. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1098–99. The “rigorous 18 analysis” district courts engage in to determine whether the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil 19 Procedure 23(a) have been satisfied at the class certification stage will “[f]requently . . . entail 20 some overlap with the merits of the plaintiff’s underlying claim.” Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v.

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