Ely Holdings Limited v. O'Keeffe's, Inc.

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 ELY HOLDINGS LIMITED, et al., Case No. 18-cv-06721-JCS

8 Plaintiffs, ORDER REGARDING 9 v. ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO FILE UNDER SEAL 10 O’KEEFFE’S, INC., Re: Dkt. Nos. 186, 191, 202, 212 Defendant. 11

12 Plaintiffs’ administrative motion to file under seal portions of their motion for summary 13 judgment and certain exhibits thereto is based solely on Defendant’s and three non-parties’ 14 designations of confidentiality. See dkt. 186. Plaintiffs’ administrative motion to file under seal 15 certain exhibits submitted with their opposition to Defendant’s motion for summary judgment 16 similarly relied on Defendant’s designations of confidentiality. See dkt. 191. Plaintiff’s 17 administrative motion to file under seal portions of its supplemental brief also rests on 18 confidentiality designations by Defendant and a non-party. See dkt. 212. Neither Defendant nor 19 the non-parties1 who originally produced the documents at issue filed responsive declarations 20 establishing that material to be sealable as required by Civil Local Rule 79-5(e)(1). Those 21 motions are therefore DENIED. 22 To complete the public record, Plaintiffs are ORDERED to file the following documents 23 without redactions no earlier than June 14, 2021 and no later than June 21, 2021: (1) Plaintiffs’ 24 motion for summary judgment; (2) Exhibits 4, 8, 11, 18, 24, and 26 to the declaration of Philip 25 Bautista in support of Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment; (3) Exhibits 4 and 11 to the 26 declaration of Donald McPhail in support of Plaintiffs’ opposition brief; and (4) Plaintiff’s 27 ] supplemental brief. See Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(2). 2 Defendant moved to file under seal portions of its opposition to Plaintiffs’ motion for 3 summary judgment and certain exhibits submitted with that brief. See dkt. 202. The only exhibit 4 || Defendant seeks to seal based on its own confidentiality interests is Exhibit 13 to the declaration 5 of Mark Schickman, which is an advice letter from Defendant’s attorney. Defendant offers no 6 || reason for sealing that exhibit beyond a basic description of what the exhibit is. That description 7 || does not establish “compelling reasons” to seal the exhibit, as is required for documents submitted 8 in connection with a dispositive motion that goes to the merits of the case. See Ctr. for Auto 9 || Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016). The motion to seal that 10 || document is DENIED, and Defendant shall file Exhibit 13 in the public record no later than June 11 21, 2021. In the alternative, Defendant may file by the same date a renewed motion to seal 12 || narrowly tailored portions of that document, accompanied by a declaration setting forth 13 compelling reasons for sealing. 14 The remainder of Defendant’s motion to file under seal is based solely on Plaintiffs’ 3 15 designations of confidentiality. Plaintiffs filed responsive declarations by Philip Bautista and 16 || Ryan Dennett seeking to seal only certain proposed redactions to Exhibits 6, 7, and 17 to 17 Schickman’s declaration. Dkt. 204. Dennett’s declaration provides compelling reasons to seal 18 || those redactions. Defendant’s motion to file under seal is therefore GRANTED only as to 19 || Plaintiffs’ proposed redactions to those exhibits, DENIED as to the remaining portion of those 20 || exhibits, and DENIED as to the redacted portions of Defendant’s brief and the other exhibits for 21 which Plaintiffs did not pursue sealing. Defendant is ORDERED to file its opposition brief and 22 Exhibits 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 24, 27, and 31? to the accompanying declaration of Mark 23 Schickman unredacted in the public record no later than June 21, 2021. 24 IT ISSO ORDERED. 25 || Dated: June 10, 2021 6 Z- □□ 26 é vat Magistrate Tudge 27 28 2 Since Plaintiffs have already publicly filed redacted versions of Exhibits 6, 7, and 17, no further action is needed to complete the public record with respect to those exhibits. See dkt. 204.