Hernandez v. County of Monterey

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 SAN JOSE DIVISION 7 8 JESSE HERNANDEZ, et al., Case No. 13-cv-02354-BLF

9 Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT 10 v. CFMG’S ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO FILE UNDER SEAL 11 COUNTY OF MONTEREY, et al., [Re: ECF 907, 908] 12 Defendants.

14 15 Defendant California Forensic Medical Group, Inc. (“CFMG”) has filed two administrative 16 motions (ECF 907, 908) to seal material contained in exhibits supporting CFMG’s Show Cause 17 Response (ECF 905). Specifically, CFMG moves to seal exhibits and portions of exhibits 18 containing jail inmates’ personal identifying information, jail inmates’ confidential medical 19 information, and jail staff’s personal identifying information. 20 No opposition has been filed to CFMG’s administrative motions and the time to oppose 21 has expired. CFMG represents that Plaintiffs and Defendant County of Monterey consent to the 22 first administrative motion, docketed at ECF 907. Plaintiffs have filed a non-opposition (ECF 23 909) to the second administrative motion, docketed at ECF 908. Plaintiffs request that CFMG be 24 ordered to file redacted versions of their exhibits as soon as possible. CFMG requests 14 days to 25 file redacted versions of the exhibits on the basis that they are voluminous. 26 The Court must determine whether CFMG’s motion to seal should be evaluated under the 27 “compelling reasons” standard applicable to documents that are “more than tangentially related to 1 Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101-02, 1097 (9th Cir. 2006). The Court applies the compelling 2 || reasons standard, because CFMG’s Show Cause Response and exhibits thereto go to the heart of 3 || central issues in this case — whether inmates at the Monterey County Jail are being provided with 4 adequate medical and mental health care. 5 The Court already has found that compelling reasons exist to seal jail inmates’ personal 6 || identifying information, jail inmates’ confidential medical information, and jail staffs personal 7 || identifying information. See Order Re. Admin. Mots., ECF 802. Under the same rationale, the 8 Court finds that compelling reasons exist to seal the exhibits and portions of exhibits at issue, and 9 || that CFMG’s sealing request is narrowly tailored as required under this district’s Civil Local 10 || Rules. See Civ. L.R. 79-5(c). The Court also finds that CFMG’s request for 14 days to file 11 redacted versions of the exhibits is reasonable, and the Court perceives no prejudice to the parties 12 || or the public if CFMG is granted this additional time. 5 13 ORDER 14 (1) CFMG’s administrative motions to seal are GRANTED. 3 15 (2) CFMG shall file redacted versions of all documents on the public docket by a 16 September 5, 2024. 3 17 (3) Simultaneously with the present order, the Court will sign and issue CFMG’s 18 proposed orders containing detailed charts identifying the material to be sealed. 19 (4) This order terminates ECF 907 and 908. 20 21 Dated: August 22, 2024

ETH LABSON FREEMAN 23 United States District Judge 24 25 26 27 28