David Aguilar v. J. Tafelmeyer, et al.

Opinion

Case No.: 3:23-cv-00547-ART-CSD DAVID AGUILAR, Order Plaintiff ECF No. 113 v. J. TAFELMEYER, et al., Defendants

Before the court is Plaintiff’s unopposed motion for leave to file Exhibits 2, 4, and 7 under seal in connection with his opposition to Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. (ECF No. 113.) Preliminarily, the motion to seal was filed under seal. There is no basis for the motion to seal to itself be under seal. Accordingly, Plaintiff shall file an unsealed copy of his motion to seal within ten days of the date of this order. Addressing the merits of the motion, when the documents sought to be sealed are “more than tangentially related to the merits of a case,” as they are here, the court must find compelling reasons support the sealing of the documents. Center for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Group, LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096-97, 1101 (9th Cir. 2016). This court, and others within the Ninth Circuit, have recognized that the need to protect medical privacy qualifies as a “compelling reason” for sealing records because the interest in keeping sensitive health information confidential outweighs the public’s need for direct access to the medical records. Exhibit 7 is an expert report based on Plaintiff’s medical records and therefore it is properly filed under seal. ] Exhibit 4 is a recording of a witness interview that took place in connection with Plaintiff’s criminal investigation. The court concludes that compelling reasons exist to outweigh 3] the public’s need for access to these investigative materials — specifically, the safety and security of the witnesses and the institution. Exhibit 4 is therefore properly filed under seal. 5 Exhibit 2 is an internal NNCC document that appears to contain sensitive information 6] about Plaintiff's status in the institution. The court finds that compelling reasons exist to outweigh the public’s interest in access to this document, specifically the safety and security of 8 both Plaintiff and the institution, and therefore Exhibit 2 is properly filed under seal. 9 In accordance with the foregoing, Plaintiff's motion for leave to file under seal (ECF No. 10} 113) is GRANTED. Plaintiff shall re-file an unsealed copy of the motion on the docket within days of the date of this order. 13), IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: May 6, 2026 Craig S. Denney > United States Magistfate Judge