Blendtec v. Blendjet

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH, CENTRAL DIVISION

BLENDTEC INC., a Utah corporation, MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING Plaintiff, BLENDJET INC.’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE DOCUMENTS vs. UNDER SEAL BLENDJET, INC., a Delaware corporation, Civil No. 2:21-cv-00668-TC-DBP Defendant. Judge Tena Campbell

Chief Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead

Defendant BlendJet Inc. moves to maintain under seal certain documents. (ECF No. 152.) Redacted versions of these documents have been publicly filed. On May 2, 2023, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Leave to File Under Seal the documents. The court granted that motion and instructed BlendJet that it must move to maintain the documents under seal pursuant to the Local Rules. (ECF No. 114.) The current motion seeks to comply with the Local Rules. BlendJet provides specific reasons asserting they establish good cause for maintaining the documents under seal. For example, BlendJet avers that they contain non-public sensitive financial information that may cause competitive harm. “The records of the court are presumptively open to the public,” and sealing court documents is “highly discouraged.” DUCivR 5-3(a)(1). The right of access to judicial records, however, is not absolute. Colony Ins. Co. v. Burke, 698 F.3d 1222, 1241 (10th Cir. 2012). “[T]he presumption in favor of access to judicial records may be overcome where countervailing interests heavily outweigh the public interests in access.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). “The burden is on the party seeking to restrict access to show some significant interest that outweighs the presumption.” Id. (internal documents under seal as set forth in the motion. There are countervailing interests that outweigh the public interest to access the sensitive information. Accordingly, the motion is GRANTED.

DATED this 21 June 2023.

DustywfB-Pe United Stages Mag]strate Judge