Leonard v. John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York

• Court: District Court, S.D. New York
• Decided: January 17, 2020
• Docket: 1:18-cv-04994
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

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"WATERCO □□□ UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CIPO TT □□ SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ECEIVET JEFFREY LEONARD, IN HIS CAPACITY AS ___ ) TRUSTEE OF THE POPLAWSKI 2008 ) JAN i 2UZii □□ | INSURANCE TRUST; PHILLIS POPLAWSKI; _) and PBR PARTNERS, on behalf of themselves ) CHAMBERS OF and all others similarly situated ) ALVIN K. HELLERSTE IN ) ul, □□ Plaintiffs, ) vs. ) Civil Action No. 18-cv-4994-AKH ) JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE ) SJ COMPANY OF NEW YORK and JOHN ) USDC SDN) : HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY ) DOCUMi NT (U.S.A.) ELECTRONICALLY FILED Defendants. ) DOC #:_ ) DATE Fii.ED:_ 2020 —EEGEOSED} ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIAL PROPRIETARY MATERIAL UNDER SEAL This Order addresses the sealed joint discovery dispute letter dated January 7, 2020, see ECF No. 99, which was filed in redacted form, and certain of the attached exhibits, which were filed in redacted form or entirely under seal. The Court heard and resolved the Parties’ discovery dispute at a hearing on January 10, 2020. See Unnumbered Docket Entry Dated Jan. 10, 2020. The material that John Hancock seeks to maintain under seal was not mentioned during the hearing, and it was not relevant to the Court’s resolution of the dispute. Accordingly, it is not subject toa presumption of public access. See In re Sept. 11 Litig., 723 F. Supp. 2d 526, 533 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (stating that documents that “dfo] not bear on [the Court’s] adjudication of [a] motion” are “not the type of document{[s] to which the public has . . . access”) (Hellerstein, J.). Insofar as that material was relevant to the Parties’ dispute, because it was filed in connection with a discovery motion, it is subject (if at all) to a weak presumption of public access. See Brown v. Maxwell, 929 F.3d 41, 50 (2d Cir. 2019). That weak presumption is outweighed

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here by John Hancock’s interest in maintaining the confidentiality of certain non-public, commercially sensitive, and proprietary information the disclosure of which would cause John Hancock significant competitive harm. See GoSMILE, Inc. v. Dr. Jonathan Levine, D.M.D. P.C., 769 F. Supp. 2d 630, 649-50 (S.D.N.Y. 2011); see also, e.g., Order, In re AXA Equitable Life Ins. Co., No. 1:16-cv-00740-JMF (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 23, 2017), ECF No. 315 (granting motion to seal document containing life insurance company’s financial projections and planned accounting treatment of certain products); Memorandum Opinion and Order, In re AXA Equitable Life Ins. Co., No. 1:16-cv-00740-JMF (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 3, 2017), ECF No. 135 at 4 (granting motion to seal documents disclosing “proprietary actuarial assumptions, processes, methodologies, and judgements that continue to inform or reflect [the life insurance company’s] current mortality assumptions.”). More specifically, the documents contain the following types of non-public, commercially sensitive, and proprietary information: Exhibit to Non-Public, Commercially Sensitive, and Treatment January 7, Proprietary Information 2020 Joint Discovery Letter 1 This memorandum describes John Hancock’s Withhold in Full methodology for undertaking the cost-of-insurance charge redetermination at issue in this case. It discusses actuarial assumptions that John Hancock used to price the relevant life insurance policies, the development of actuarial assumptions used to implement the redetermination, and the redetermination’s potential financial impact.

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Exhibit to Non-Public, Commercially Sensitive, and Treatment January 7, Proprietary Information 2020 Joint Discovery — Letter _ 2 The redacted portion refers to third-party mortality Redact studies that John Hancock consulted when developing certain proprietary mortality assumptions, and the use of which John Hancock represents it is obliged to maintain in confidence. 3 The redacted portions refer to the third-party mortality Redact studies described in Exhibit 2, the use of which John Hancock represents it is obliged to maintain in confidence. 5 The redacted portion of the internal draft Q&A discusses Redact various aspects of John Hancock’s business and business strategy, including actuarial assumption development, financial performance, and contemplated initiatives. The redacted portion contains sensitive information Redact concerning the impact of the cost-of-insurance rate redetermination on certain policies. 10 The redacted portions describe updated proprietary Redact mortality assumptions used to price various John Hancock products, the process for developing those assumptions, and the experience used to do so, which is among the most sensitive information that John Hancock possesses. fel The redacted portion describes the process by which Redact John Hancock developed new proprietary lapse assumptions. 12 The redacted portions describe actuarial assumptions Redact that John Hancock developed and/or implemented in relation to the cost-of-insurance charge redetermination at issue in this action.

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Exhibit to Non-Public, Commercially Sensitive, and Treatment January 7, Proprietary Information 2020 Joint Discovery | Letter 14 This memorandum was prepared for the purpose of Withhold in Full evaluating a contemplated (but ultimately unconsummated) transaction that John Hancock represents it is obliged to keep confidential. The disclosure of this contemplated transaction and information concerning the transaction could cause John Hancock significant competitive harm. 15 This document describes the contemplated (but Withhold in Full ultimately unconsummated) transaction discussed in Exhibit 14. This presentation was prepared for the purpose of Withhold in Full evaluating the contemplated (but ultimately unconsummated) transaction discussed in Exhibit 14. 17 This presentation was prepared for the purpose of Withhold in Full evaluating the contemplated (but ultimately unconsummated) transaction discussed in Exhibit 14. The redacted portions reveal mortality experience that Redact John Hancock used to develop proprietary mortality assumptions. 21 This presentation describes the status of more than 70 Withhold in Full strategic initiatives that John Hancock contemplated or undertook.

John Hancock’s request to maintain the subject material under seal is narrowly tailored. See Sellick v. Consol. Edison Co, of N.Y., Inc., 2017 WL 1133443, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 23, 2017). The redactions John Hancock has proposed to the January 7, 2020 joint discovery letter and Exhibits 2-3, 5, 9-12, and 19 thereto are limited to information that meets the criteria for sealing. And Exhibits 1, 14-17, and 21 to the joint discovery letter consist almost entirely (if not entirely)

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of non-public, commercially sensitive, and proprietary information, such that redacting those Exhibits would be impractical. For these reasons, the motion of Defendants John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York and John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) to maintain under seal the materials described above is GRANTED.

IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 Klik 0 THE HONORABLE ALVIN K. HELLERSTEIN UNIZED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE fff