Kelly D. Mickelson v. Ken Williams, et al.

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 Case No.: 3:25-cv-00107-MMD-CSD KELLY D. MICKELSON, 4 Order Plaintiff 5 Re: ECF Nos. 21, 25, 32, 36 v. 6 KEN WILLIAMS, et al., 7 Defendants 8 9 Before the court are NDOC’s unopposed motions for leave to file Plaintiff's medical 10}| records under seal in connection with their responses to Plaintiff’s motions for temporary 11}/restraining order and/or preliminary injunction. (ECF Nos. 21, 25, 32, 36.) When the documents sought to be sealed are “more than tangentially related to the merits of a case,” as they are here, court must find compelling reasons support the sealing of the documents. Center for Auto 141 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 plaintiff’s interest in keeping 17|| his sensitive health information confidential outweighs the public’s need for direct access to the 18]| medical records. Therefore, Defendants’ motions for leave to file under seal (ECF Nos. 21, 25, 36) are GRANTED. 20/1T IS SO ORDERED. 21}| Dated: March 9, 2026 CS Craig S. Denney 23 United States Magistrate Judge