Brown v. Google LLC

Opinion

1 2 3 6 7 CHASOM BROWN, et al., Case No. 20-cv-03664-LHK (SVK)

8 Plaintiffs, ORDER ON ADMINISTRATIVE 9 v. MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL

10 GOOGLE LLC, Re: Dkt. No. 154 11 Defendant.

12 Now before the Court is Google’s Administrative Motions to File Documents Under Seal 13 (Dkt. 154) seeking to seal portions of the Parties’ May 6, 2021 Joint Discovery Submission (Dkt. 14 155 ). 15 Courts recognize a “general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, 16 including judicial records and documents.” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. Of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 17 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Communs., Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 & n.7 18 (1978)). A request to seal court records therefore starts with a “strong presumption in favor of 19 access.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178 (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). The standard for overcoming the presumption of public access to 20 court records depends on the purpose for which the records are filed with the court. A party 21 seeking to seal court records relating to motions that are “more than tangentially related to the 22 underlying cause of action” must demonstrate “compelling reasons” that support secrecy. Ctr. For 23 Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., 809 F.3d 1092, 1099 (9th Cir. 2016). For records attached to 24 motions that re “not related, or only tangentially related, to the merits of the case,” the lower 25 “good cause” standard of Rule 26(c) applies. Id.; see also Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. A party 26 moving to seal court records must also comply with the procedures established by Civil Local 27 1 Here, the “good cause” standard applies because the information the parties seek to seal 2 was submitted to the Court in connection with a discovery-related motion, rather than a motion 3 that concerns the merits of the case. The Court may reach different conclusions regarding sealing 4 these documents under different standards or in a different context. Having considered the 5 motions to seal, supporting declarations, and the pleadings on file, and good cause appearing, the 6 Court ORDERS as follows: 4 8 a Court’s Ruling □□□ on Motion to Reason(s) for Court’s Ruling 9 Sealed Seal GRANTED asto _ \Narrowly tailored to protect highly 10 Joint Submission redacted portions __ confidential and proprietary at 2, 3 (Dispute information regarding highly sensitive 11 P3) features of Google’s internal systems 2 and operations, including details related to the cookies Google uses & 13 internally and their proprietary = functions, that Google maintains as v 14 confidential in the ordinary course of its business and is not generally 2 15 own to the public or Google’s 2 competitors. a 16 SO ORDERED. vo

Dated: May 10, 2021 Z 18 19 S 20 SUSAN VAN KEULEN United States Magistrate Judge 22 23 24 25 26 27 28