National Payment Systems LLC v. BSR Acquisition Company LLC

Opinion

WO

National Payment Systems LLC, No. CV-21-00666-PHX-JJT

Plaintiff, ORDER

v.

BSR Acquisition Company LLC,

Defendant. At issue is Defendant’s Motion to File Documents under Seal (Doc. 70). In the Ninth Circuit, courts “start with a strong presumption in favor of access to court records.” Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). “In order to overcome this strong presumption, a party seeking to seal a judicial record must articulate justifications for sealing that outweigh the historical right of access and the public policies favoring disclosure.” Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178–79 (9th Cir. 2006). Where a document is “more than tangentially related to the merits” of a case, the party seeking to seal the document must demonstrate “compelling reasons to keep the documents under seal.” Ctr. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1103. Defendant has provided sufficient compelling reasons to file under seal the Response to Plaintiff’s Motion for Relief Regarding Alleged Inability to Pay on a Judgment (lodged under seal at Doc. 71). Specifically, Defendant has stated that the subject document 1 contains confidential business and financial data, the disclosure of which could harm the parties’ competitive standing. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. Moreover, the Court takes into account the expedited nature of the subject briefing in conjunction with Plaintiffs Motion for Temporary Restraining Order. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED granting Defendant’s Motion to File Documents under Seal (Doc. 70). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall file under seal the document presently lodged under seal at Doc. 71. Dated this 19th day of May, 2021. CN

wef hlee— Unifgd State#District Judge

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