MasterObjects, Inc. v. Meta Platforms, Inc.

District Court, N.D. California·Decided February 7, 2023·No. 3:21-cv-05428·Unknown

Opinion

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Plaintiff, No. C 21-05428 WHA

v.

META PLATFORMS, INC., OMNIBUS ORDER RE MOTIONS TO SEAL Defendant.

This omnibus order addresses all remaining motions to seal and associated exhibits (Dkt. Nos. 161, 171, 172, 177, 180, 181, 190, 193, 200, 202, 208, 209, 214, 215, 224, 229, 230, 233, 237, 240, 248, 249, 251, 252, 261, 287). There is a strong public policy in favor of openness in our court system and the public is entitled to know to whom we are providing relief (or not). See Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178–80 (9th Cir. 2006). Consequently, access to motions and their attachments that are “more than tangentially related to the merits of a case” may be sealed only upon a showing of “compelling reasons” for sealing. Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101–02 (9th Cir. 2016). Filings that are only tangentially related to the merits may be sealed upon a lesser showing of “good cause.” Id. at 1097. The compelling reasons standard applies to most judicial records. Evidentiary motions, such as motions in limine and Daubert motions, can be strongly correlative to the merits of a case. Id. at 1098– In addition, sealing motions filed in this district must contain a specific statement that explains: (1) the legitimate private or public interests that warrant sealing; (2) the injury that will result should sealing be denied; and (3) why a less restrictive alternative to sealing is not sufficient. The material requested to be sealed must be “narrowly tailored to seal only the sealable material.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(c). For example, “[t]he publication of materials that could result in infringement upon trade secrets has long been considered a factor that would overcome [the] strong presumption” in favor of access and provide compelling reasons for sealing. Apple Inc. v. Psystar Corp., 658 F.3d 1150, 1162 (9th Cir. 2011). Compelling reasons may also warrant sealing for “sources of business information that might harm a litigant’s competitive standing,” especially where the public has minimal interest in the information. See Nixon v. Warner Comms., Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 598 (1978). Finally, “[s]upporting declarations may not rely on vague boilerplate language or nebulous assertions of potential harm but must explain with particularity why any document or portion thereof remains sealable under the applicable legal standard.” Bronson v. Samsung Elecs. Am., Inc., 2019 WL 7810811, at *1 (N.D. Cal. May 28, 2019) (citing Civ. L.R. 79-5). “Reference to a stipulation or protective order that allows a party to designate certain documents as confidential is not sufficient to establish that a document, or portions thereof, are sealable.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(c). 1. MASTEROBJECTS’ MOTION FOR SANCTIONS. Regarding MasterObjects’ motion for sanctions and related briefing and exhibits, this order rules as follows: Dkt. Document to be Result Reasoning No. Sealed 161-3 MasterObjects’ DENIED. Meta seeks to seal general, technical Motion for information regarding its systems. Sanctions Meta’s support for sealing is insufficient because it is broad and nonspecific. Given the nature of the information at issue, Meta does not describe with particularity how disclosure of this information would cause it competitive assertion that disclosure would “potentially giv[e] bad actors a roadmap to identifying sensitive information about Meta’s technical operation of Typeahead and related functionalities” (Dkt. No. 168). Meta references source code, of which there is none cited in this document. Moreover, Meta’s request encompasses clearly non-sealable material. For example, Meta seeks to seal the number of source code files produced in discovery (eleven million), and its Rule 30(b)(6) witness’s testimony regarding the general computer-science definition of the word “cache.” The request is consequently overbroad. Meta cites no authority indicating why this high-level information is sealable. See Finjan, Inc. v. Sophos, Inc., 2015 WL 5012679, at *5 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 24, 2015) (Judge William H. Orrick). This information goes to the heart of this litigation, and the public interest outweighs Meta’s interest in keeping the material sealed. 161-4 Hosie Declaration DENIED. See entry for Dkt. No. 161-3. 161-5 Transcript of DENIED. See entry for Dkt. No. 161-3. Meta seeks Deposition of to seal this transcript on the grounds it William Pei (2022) contains confidential information regarding its systems. The Rule 30(b)(6) witness described the Typeahead system in generic terms. Meta does not adequately explain how disclosure of this high-level information could allow a third-party to understand its system in enough detail that it would cause Meta competitive harm. Moreover, the request is clearly overbroad, as it includes testimony regarding general computer- science terms at issue in the litigation, such as “index” and “cache.” 161-6 Smedley DENIED. See entry for Dkt. No. 161-3. Declaration 161-7 Transcript of DENIED See entry for Dkt. No. 193-3. Deposition of WITHOUT William Pei (2020) PREJUDICE. 161-8 Internal Agenda GRANTED. Meta seeks to seal internal scheduling information that carries little public interest, public disclosure of which may cause Meta competitive harm. 161-9 Internal Technical GRANTED. Meta seeks to seal detailed, confidential Documentation information regarding Meta’s systems, public disclosure of which may cause Meta competitive harm. 161-10 Internal Technical GRANTED. See entry for Dkt. No. 161-9. Documentation 161-11 Internal Brainstorm GRANTED. See entry for Dkt. No. 161-9. Document 161-12 Transcript of DENIED. See entry for Dkt. Nos. 161-3 and 161-5. Deposition of Iosef Kaver 161-13 Transcript of DENIED. See entry for Dkt. Nos. 161-3 and 161-5. Deposition of Philip Pronin 161-14 Excerpt of Meta’s DENIED. Meta seeks to seal an excerpt from its Responses to responses to MasterObjects’ requests for MasterObjects’ admission in its entirety. The request is Requests for overbroad, as it includes the requests for Admission admission themselves as well as Meta’s boilerplate objections. Moreover, Meta does not adequately explain why public disclosure of certain responses could result in competitive harm. For example, Meta seeks to seal straightforward disavowals that go to the heart of this litigation, such as “Facebook denies that Typeahead uses one or more server-side caches containing previous queries.” Meta does not sufficiently explain how disclosure of such disavowals could cause it competitive harm. 161-15 Excerpt of DENIED. See entry for Dkt. No. 161-14. MasterObjects’ Requests for Admission 161-16 Internal Technical GRANTED. See entry for Dkt. No. 161-9. Documentation 161-17 Internal Notes GRANTED. See entry for Dkt. No. 161-9. Document 161-18 Excerpt of Meta’s DENIED. Meta seeks to seal an excerpt of its Responses to responses to MasterObjects’ requests for MasterObjects’ production in its entirety. The request is Requests for overbroad, as it includes the requests for boilerplate objections. Moreover, Meta does not adequately explain why public disclosure of certain responses could result in competitive harm. For example, Meta seeks to seal broad discovery statements, such as “The accused instrumentality identified by MasterObjects — Typeahead — is not sold by Facebook. Consequently, Facebook does not collect, analyze, or generate revenue information for the accused instrumentality. Subject to, as limited by, and without waiving the foregoing General Objections and Specific Objections, Facebook will meet and confer with Plaintiff regarding the number of Requests propounded to date.” Meta does not sufficiently explain how

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MasterObjects, Inc. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., (N.D. Cal. 2023).

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658 F.3d 1150 (Ninth Circuit, 2011)
Center for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Group, LLC
809 F.3d 1092 (Ninth Circuit, 2016)