Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. v. Avanci, LLC

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedDecember 5, 2019
Docket5:19-cv-02520
StatusUnknown

This text of Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. v. Avanci, LLC (Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. v. Avanci, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. v. Avanci, LLC, (N.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10 SAN JOSE DIVISION 11

12 CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE Case No.19-cv-02520-LHK SYSTEMS, INC., 13 ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND Plaintiff, DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S 14 ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE v. UNDER SEAL 15 AVANCI, LLC, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 156 16 Defendants. 17

18 On July 31, 2019, a subset of the defendants in this case (the “Moving Defendants”) filed a 19 motion to transfer the case to the Northern District of Texas pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). ECF 20 No. 110. Plaintiff Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. (“Plaintiff”) filed its Opposition to the 21 motion to transfer venue (“Opposition”) on August 28, 2019. ECF No. 157. Before the Court is 22 Plaintiff’s administrative motion to seal portions of the Opposition and certain materials attached 23 thereto. ECF No. 156. Having reviewed Plaintiff’s submissions and the applicable sealing law, 24 the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part the administrative motion to seal. 25 I. LEGAL STANDARD 26 “Historically, courts have recognized a ‘general right to inspect and copy public records 27 1 1 and documents, including judicial records and documents.’” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of 2 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 3 U.S. 589, 597 & n.7 (1978)). As the Ninth Circuit has explained, this is a “common law right,” 4 United States v. Doe, 870 F.3d 991, 996 (9th Cir. 2017), reflecting the American judicial system’s 5 longstanding commitment to “the open courtroom,” Oliner v. Kontrabecki, 745 F.3d 1024, 1025 6 (9th Cir. 2014). The public policy favoring public access to judicial proceedings applies equally 7 to court records because “court records often provide important, sometimes the only, bases or 8 explanations for a court’s decision.” Id. Accordingly, when considering a sealing request, “a 9 strong presumption in favor of access is the starting point.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). 10 To be precise, the strong presumption of access to judicial records applies fully to filings 11 that are “more than tangentially related to the underlying cause of action.” Ctr. for Auto Safety v. 12 Chrysler Grp., 809 F.3d 1092, 1099 (9th Cir. 2016). That presumption can only be overcome by a 13 showing of “compelling reasons” that “outweigh the general history of access and the public 14 policies favoring disclosure.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178 (internal quotation marks omitted). 15 The party seeking to seal a judicial record bears the burden of “articulat[ing] compelling reasons 16 supported by specific factual findings.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Compelling 17 reasons justifying the sealing of court records generally exist “when such ‘court files might have 18 become a vehicle for improper purposes,’ such as the use of records to gratify private spite, 19 promote public scandal, circulate libelous statements, or release trade secrets.” Id. at 1179 20 (quoting Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598). By contrast, “[t]he mere fact that the production of records may 21 lead to a litigant’s embarrassment, incrimination, or exposure to further litigation will not, without 22 more, compel the court to seal its records.” Id. at 1178–79. 23 However, the Ninth Circuit has “carved out an exception” to the presumption of access for 24 materials filed in connection with motions that are not “more than tangentially related to the 25 underlying cause of action.” Ctr. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1099. Because “the public has less 26 of a need for access” to documents that are “unrelated, or only tangentially related, to the 27 2 1 underlying cause of action,” parties moving to seal such documents need only meet the lower 2 “good cause” standard of Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Kamakana, 447 3 F.3d at 1179. Still, the “good cause” standard requires a “particularized showing” that “specific 4 prejudice or harm will result” if the information is disclosed. Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. 5 Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002) (citation omitted); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 26(c). “Broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated by specific examples or articulated reasoning” 7 will not suffice. Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992) (citation 8 omitted). 9 The Court begins, as it must, with the question of what test to apply to Plaintiff’s motion— 10 "the presumptive ‘compelling reasons’ standard or the ‘good cause’ exception.” Ctr. for Auto 11 Safety, 809 F.3d at 1097. 12 In determining whether the good cause exception covers a particular filing, the Ninth 13 Circuit has previously distinguished between “dispositive” and “nondispositive” motions. Ctr. for 14 Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1097; see, e.g., In re Midland Nat. Life Ins. Co. Annuity Sales Practices 15 Litig., 686 F.3d 1115, 1119 (9th Cir. 2012) (“This exception is ‘expressly limited to” judicial 16 records filed under seal when attached to a non-dispositive motion.”). Based on this case law, 17 Plaintiff contends that the “good cause” exception applies to the documents at issue in the instant 18 sealing motion, which were filed in connection with a motion to transfer venue. See ECF No. 156 19 at 1 (quoting Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180 (“A ‘good cause’ showing under Rule 26(c) will suffice 20 to keep sealed records attached to non-dispositive motions.”)). A motion to transfer venue 21 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) is indisputably nondispositive. 22 In Center for Auto Safety, however, the Ninth Circuit clarified its doctrine in this area. 23 There, the Ninth Circuit rejected the proposition that the compelling reasons test is limited “to 24 only those cases in which the motion at issue is literally dispositive.” 809 F.3d at 1098. The 25 Ninth Circuit held that the appropriate sealing standard instead turns on whether “the motion at 26 issue is more than tangentially related to the underlying cause of action.” Id. at 1099. As the 27 3 1 Ninth Circuit pointed out, it had crafted the “good cause” standard for “sealed materials attached 2 to a discovery motion unrelated to the merits of a case.” Id. at 1097 (citing Phillips ex rel. Estates 3 of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1213–14 (9th Cir. 2002)). Indeed, “the ‘good 4 cause’ language comes from [Federal] Rule [of Civil Procedure] 26(c)(1), which governs the 5 issuance of protective orders in the discovery process.” Id. The Center for Auto Safety court went 6 on to explain that “[a]pplying the good cause standard from Rule 26(c) as an exception for 7 discovery-related motions makes sense” because “‘much of the information that surfaces during 8 pretrial discovery may be unrelated, or only tangentially related, to the underlying cause of 9 action.’” Id. (citing Phillips, 307 F.3d at 1213). Consequently, “the private interests of litigants 10 are ‘the only weights on the scale’” when sealing a discovery-related motion. Id.

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Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. v. Avanci, LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/continental-automotive-systems-inc-v-avanci-llc-cand-2019.