Ennis v. Alder Protection Holdings

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH, CENTRAL DIVISION SHADRACH ENNIS, NICOLAAS MEMORANDUM DECISION AND VANLEEUWEN, and TERRANCE ORDER MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE JESCLARD, individually and on behalf of all REDACTED VERSIONS OF others similarly situated, DOCUMENTS Plaintiffs, Case No. 2:19-cv-00512-CW-DBP v. Judge Clark Waddoups ALDER PROTECTION HOLDINGS, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; ALDER Chief Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead HOLDINGS, LLC, a Utah limited liability company; ADAM SCHANZ, an individual; ADAM CHRISTIAN, an individual; KYLE DEMORDAUNT, an individual; DANE MCCARTNEY, an individual; COVE SMART, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; and DOES I–X, Defendants. Defendants move the court to substitute redacted versions for certain documents that contain personal identifies. (ECF No. 268.) Specifically, Defendants seek to substitute docket nos. 266-13, 266-14, 266-15, and 266-16. The court will grant the motion. “The records of the court are presumptively open to the public,” and sealing court documents is “highly discouraged.” DUCivR 5-3(a)(1). The right of access to judicial records, however, is not absolute. Colony Ins. Co. v. Burke, 698 F.3d 1222, 1241 (10th Cir. 2012). “[T]he presumption in favor of access to judicial records may be overcome where countervailing interests heavily outweigh the public interests in access.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). “The burden is on the party seeking to restrict access to show some significant interest that outweighs the presumption.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Under the Local Rules personal identifiers listed in Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2 are to be redacted. See DUCivR 5.2-1. These include items such as the year of an individual’s birth, the last four digits of a social-security number, or a taxpayer-identification number. As noted by Defendants, the exhibits will still be accessible but certain identifiers will be redacted. The court is persuaded that the redacted documents should be filed. Accordingly, the motion is GRANTED.

DATED this 20 July 2023.

Dust Pyad ° United Stafes Mapistrate Judge