Huntsman v. Southwest Airlines Co.

Opinion

Case No. 19-cv-00083-PJH Plaintiff,

v. ORDER RE ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO SEAL Re: Dkt. No. 99 Defendant.

Before the court is defendant Southwest Airlines Co.’s renewed administrative motion to seal portions of its opposition to plaintiff’s motion for class certification and exhibits in support of the opposition. Dkt. 99. A party seeking to seal materials submitted with a motion that is “more than tangentially related to the merits of the case”—regardless whether that motion is “technically dispositive”—must demonstrate that there are compelling reasons to keep the documents under seal. Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101-02 (9th Cir. 2016). Class certification motions are more than tangentially related to the merits of the case. See A.B. v. Pac. Fertility Ctr., 441 F.Supp.3d 902, 906 (N.D. Cal. 2020); Racies v. Quincy Bioscience, LLC, 2017 WL 6405612, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 15, 2017). The materials at issue here do not all meet the compelling interest standard to warrant sealing. Opposition brief: The court GRANTS the request to file the redacted opposition Declaration of Brian D. Berry, Exhibit A: The court DENIES the request to seal the deposition transcript at Hunstman Dep. 208:2-25 and court GRANTS the request to seal the deposition transcript at Huntsman Dep. 302:15-303:25. Declaration of Brian D. Berry, Exhibit B: The court GRANTS the request to seal plaintiff’s W-2 tax forms (P00003-08) and DENIES the request to seal plaintiff’s “PCARS” military service record (P00009-15). The court DENIES the request to seal plaintiff’s Reserve Order from the Air Force (P000016-17), except that the parties may redact plaintiff’s retired pay grade following the equal sign (=) on P000016 because it may implicate financial information. Declaration of John Freed, Exhibit 1: The court DENIES the request to seal the document listing plaintiff’s “Active Duty Statuses” in 2017 and 2018 (SWA-HUNTSII 009251). Declaration of John Freed, Exhibit 2: The court DENIES the request to seal the calendar with military service date information for Plaintiff in 2017 and 2018 (SWA- HUNTSII 009252). Dated: February 24, 2021 /s/ Phyllis J. Hamilton PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON United States District Judge