Bowman v. Unibank

Opinion

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON BRODIE L. BOWMAN, et al., CASE NO. CV23-0971-JCC Plaintiffs, ORDER v. UNIBANK, et al., Defendants.

This matter comes before the Court on Defendants’ unopposed motion to seal (Dkt. No. 31) certain exhibits attached to the Declaration of Sunny Kim (Dkt. No. 30) in support of Defendants’ Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction. (Dkt. No. 28.) While the public has a common law right to inspect and copy public records, including those from judicial proceedings, these rights are not absolute. They must yield when (1) sealing a document serves a compelling interest, (2) that is substantially likely to be harmed if the document is not sealed, and (3) there are no less restrictive alternatives for protecting the interest. See United States v. Doe, 870 F.3d 991, 998 (9th Cir. 2017). Given the sensitive financial nature and non-public data contained in the exhibits at issue, these criteria are met here. Accordingly, Defendants’ motion to seal (Dkt. No. 31) is GRANTED and the Clerk is DIRECTED to maintain the following documents under seal: Exhibits 5, 11, 19, 26, 33, 40, 47, 54, 61, 68, 75, and 81 to the Declaration of Sunny Kim (Dkt. No. 30) in support of Defendants’ Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction. (Dkt. No. 28.) DATED this 14th day of August 2023. A John C. Coughenour UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE