Chinitz v. Intero Real Estate Services

Opinion

RONALD CHINITZ, Case No. 18-cv-05623-BLF

Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO v. FILE UNDER SEAL

INTERO REAL ESTATE SERVICES, [Re: ECF 175] Defendant.

Before the Court is Defendant’s amended motion to file part of Exhibit B to the Supplemental Declaration of Craig L. Davis under seal. See Mot., ECF 175. Plaintiff does not oppose this motion. For the reasons stated below, this motion is GRANTED. “Historically, courts have recognized a ‘general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.’” Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 n.7 (1978)). Consequently, filings that are “more than tangentially related to the merits of a case” may be sealed only upon a showing of “compelling reasons” for sealing. Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101-02 (9th Cir. 2016). Filings that are only tangentially related to the merits may be sealed upon a lesser showing of “good cause.” Id. at 1097. Sealing motions filed in this district also must be “narrowly tailored to seek sealing only of sealable material, and must conform with Civil L.R. 79-5(d).” Civil L.R. 79-5(b). Under Civil seal only the sealable material” which “lists in table format each document or portion thereof that is sought to be sealed.” In addition, a party moving to seal a document in whole or in part must file a declaration establishing that the identified material is “sealable.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(A). “Reference to a stipulation or protective order that allows a party to designate certain documents as confidential is not sufficient to establish that a document, or portions thereof, are sealable.” Id. Where the moving party requests sealing of documents because they have been designated confidential by another party or a non-party under a protective order, the burden of establishing adequate reasons for sealing is placed on the designating party or non-party. Civ. L.R. 79-5(e). The moving party must file a proof of service showing that the designating party or non-party has been given notice of the motion to seal. Id. “Within 4 days of the filing of the Administrative Motion to File Under Seal, the Designating Party must file a declaration . . . establishing that all of the designated material is sealable.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1). “If the Designating Party does not file a responsive declaration . . . and the Administrative Motion to File Under Seal is denied, the Submitting Party may file the document in the public record no earlier than 4 days, and no later than 10 days, after the motion is denied.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(2). Documents containing commercially sensitive information have been held sealable in this Circuit. See, e.g., In re Elec. Arts, Inc., 298 F. App’x 568, 569 (9th Cir. 2008) (sealing exhibit containing trade secrets and adopting definition of trade secret as “any formula, pattern, device or compilation of information which is used in one’s business, and which gives him an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it”). The Court has reviewed Defendant’s sealing motion and the declaration of Craig L. Davis (“Davis Decl.”), ECF 177, submitted in support thereof. The Court finds articulated, compelling reasons to seal certain portions of Exhibit B. The proposed redactions are generally narrowly tailored. The Court’s rulings on the sealing request is set forth in the table below. 1 ECE No. Reason for Sealing 165-2 Davis Decl., Ex. B, Business GRANTED as to the | The Court finds that 2 Records positions of the this document document highlighted | contains proprietary, 3 at LNO00001-000007 | non-public, and and LN000024- competitively 4 000029 sensitive details. 5 6 Il ORDER 7 For the reasons set forth herein, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion to file under seal 8 portions of Exhibit B. 9 10 Dated: March 25, 2021 kom Lh ham én) ll BETH LABSON FREEMAN 12 United States District Judge

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