1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 SAN JOSE DIVISION 7 8 STEVEN PRESCOTT, et al., individually Case No. 20-cv-02101-BLF and on behalf of others similarly situated 9 Plaintiffs, OMINBUS ORDER RE 10 ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO v. FILE UNDER SEAL 11 RECKITT BENCKISER LLC, [Re: ECF 110, 114, 119, 120, 122, 123, 125] 12 Defendant. 13 14 This order addresses seven administrative sealing motions filed by Plaintiffs and 15 Defendant Reckitt Benckiser LLC (“Reckitt”), all relating to briefing supporting and opposing 16 Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification: (1) Plaintiffs’ Administrative Motion to Consider 17 Whether Another Party’s Materials Should be Sealed in Connection with Plaintiffs’ Motion for 18 Class Certification (ECF 110); (2) Reckitt’s Administrative Motion to File Under Seal Plaintiffs’ 19 Motion for Class Certification and Related Documents (ECF 114); (3) Reckitt’s Administrative 20 Motion to File Under Seal Defendant’s Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification 21 and Related Documents (ECF 119); (4) Reckitt’s Administrative Motion to Consider Whether 22 Another Party’s Materials Should be Sealed in Connection with Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class 23 Certification (ECF 120); (5) Plaintiffs’ Administrative Motion to File Under Seal an Excerpt of 24 Exhibit 7 to Defendant Reckitt Benckiser’s Opposition to Class Certification (ECF 122); (6) 25 Plaintiffs’ Administrative Motion to Consider Whether Another Party’s Materials Should be Filed 26 Under Seal in Connection with Plaintiffs’ Reply in Support of Motion for Class Certification (ECF 27 123); and (7) Reckitt’s Administrative Motion to File Under Seal Plaintiffs’ Reply in Support of 1 I. LEGAL STANDARD 2 “Historically, courts have recognized a ‘general right to inspect and copy public records 3 and documents, including judicial records and documents.’” Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of 4 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 5 U.S. 589, 597 & n.7 (1978)). Consequently, access to motions and their attachments that are 6 “more than tangentially related to the merits of a case” may be sealed only upon a showing of 7 “compelling reasons” for sealing. Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 8 1101-02 (9th Cir. 2016). Filings that are only tangentially related to the merits may be sealed 9 upon a lesser showing of “good cause.” Id. at 1097. 10 Under this Court’s Civil Local Rules, a party moving to seal a document in whole or in 11 part must file a statement identifying the applicable legal standard, the injury that will result if 12 sealing is denied, and why a less restrictive alternative to sealing is not sufficient. Civ. L.R. 79- 13 5(c)(1). A supporting declaration shall be submitted if necessary. Civ. L.R. 79-5(c)(2). Finally, 14 the moving party must submit “a proposed order that is narrowly tailored to seal only the sealable 15 material.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(c)(3). Where the moving party requests sealing of material that has 16 been designated confidential by another party, the designating party has the burden to establish 17 that the material should be sealed. Civ. L.R. 79-5(f)(3). 18 II. DISCUSSION 19 This Court previously has determined “that the compelling reasons standard applies to 20 motions to seal documents relating to class certification.” Adtrader, Inc. v. Google LLC, No. 17- 21 CV-07082-BLF, 2020 WL 6391210, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 24, 2020) (collecting cases). The 22 sealing motions before the Court address three sets of documents: Plaintiffs’ motion for class 23 certification and supporting exhibits; Reckitt’s opposition to class certification and supporting 24 exhibits; and Plaintiffs’ reply in support of class certification. The Court addresses the parties’ 25 motions related to these three sets of documents in turn. 26 A. Sealing Motions Re Motion for Class Certification (ECF 110, 114) 27 Plaintiffs have filed a motion to consider whether another party’s materials should be 1 supporting exhibits contain materials designated as confidential by Reckitt. 2 Consistent with the Court’s Civil Local Rules, Reckitt has responded by filing an 3 administrative motion to file under seal (ECF 114) the subject portions of Plaintiffs’ motion for 4 class certification and supporting exhibits. Reckitt argues that compelling reasons exist to seal the 5 materials at issue, and that its sealing requests are narrowly tailored to redact only those portions 6 of the filings that disclose confidential, non-public information related to Reckitt’s product 7 formulation, trade secret testing protocols, internal communications regarding decision-making 8 and strategy, financial information, and confidential submissions to the National Advertising 9 Division (“NAD”). Reckitt’s sealing motion is supported by the declarations of Chris Tyrell (ECF 10 114-1), Reckitt’s Senior Brand Manager, Household, and Khirin A. Bunker (ECF 114-2), 11 Reckitt’s counsel in this case. 12 Plaintiffs have filed a reply (ECF 118) asserting that none of the Reckitt materials at issue 13 should be sealed, that Reckitt has not met the compelling reasons test for sealing, and that the 14 public has a right to access all materials filed in connection with the pending class certification 15 motion. 16 Mr. Tyrell’s declaration establishes that the materials at issue relate to detergent formulas, 17 product development, and testing protocols, which clearly are protectible as trade secrets; internal 18 business strategies and communications; and confidential financial information. See Tyrell Decl. 19 ¶¶ 2-58, ECF 114-1. Courts within the Ninth Circuit commonly grant sealing requests to protect 20 exactly this type of information. See, e.g., In re Electronic Arts, 298 Fed. Appx. 568, 569 (9th Cir. 21 2008) (finding compelling reasons for sealing “business information that might harm a litigant’s 22 competitive strategy”); In re Google Location Hist. Litig., No. 5:18-cv-05062-EJD, 514 F.Supp.3d 23 1147, 1162 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 25, 2021) (“Compelling reasons may exist to seal ‘trade secrets, 24 marketing strategies, product development plans, detailed product-specific financial information, 25 customer information, internal reports[.]’”) (quoting In re Apple Inc. Device Performance Litig., 26 No. 5:19-MD-02827-EJD, 2019 WL 1767158, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 22, 2019)); Krieger v. 27 Atheros Commc’ns, Inc., 2011 WL 2550831, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Jun. 25, 2011) (granting sealing 1 analyses”). 2 Mr. Bunker’s declaration explains that many of Plaintiffs’ exhibits contain materials that 3 are not cited or relied on in Plaintiffs’ class certification motion. Mr. Bunker requested to 4 Plaintiffs stipulate to the filing of reduced versions of the exhibits in question, excluding pages not 5 relied on in Plaintiffs’ motion, and Plaintiffs refused. See Bunker Decl. ¶¶ 2-9, ECF 114-2. 6 Reckitt therefore had to seek sealing of large portions of exhibits even though they were not 7 referenced in Plaintiffs’ motion brief. See id. Nonetheless, Reckitt seeks sealing of only a few 8 exhibits in their entirety; for the most part, Reckitt has gone through each of Plaintiffs’ hundreds 9 of pages of exhibits, page by page, to propose redactions of those portions that disclose Reckitt’s 10 confidential information. 11 Based on the declarations of Mr. Tyrell and Mr. Bunker, and after evaluating the materials 12 in question, the Court is satisfied that Reckitt has demonstrated compelling reasons for sealing the 13 designated portions of Plaintiffs’ filings and that Reckitt’s sealing requests are narrowly tailored to 14 seal only sealable materials. The Court finds that, given the sensitive nature of the information in 15 question, Reckitt has demonstrated that its interest in keeping its confidential information private 16 outweighs the public’s interest in access to the information. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 17 (“[T]he court must conscientiously balance[ ] the competing interests of the public and the party 18 who seeks to keep certain judicial records secret.” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)). 19 Plaintiffs’ arguments in opposition to Reckitt’s sealing requests are unpersuasive. To the 20 extent Plaintiffs argue that Reckitt has not explained how disclosure of the materials in question 21 could pose competitive harm, the nature of such harm is obvious when the materials involve trade 22 secrets, confidential financial information, and the like. Moreover, Plaintiffs argue that much of 23 the information at issue is “stale,” and therefore does not merit protection, but they do not submit a 24 declaration or other evidence in support of this position. Plaintiffs that “Reckitt cannot credibly 25 claim that the opinion of Plaintiffs’ expert is actually Reckitt’s confidential information,” without 26 acknowledging that the expert opinion is based in part on Reckitt’s confidential information. 27 Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ sealing motion (110) and Reckitt’s sealing motion (114) are ECF Document Portion(s) to Seal Reason(s) for Sealing 1 / Ex. No. 2 3 Plaintiffs’ Motion Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks For Class Table of Contents to seal contain confidential 4 Certification 1:7, 11, 13-14, 20-22 information regarding Reckitt’s (“Plaintiffs’ 2: 2, 6-7, 10-11; fn 1, 2 financial information, wholesale 5 Motion”) 4:3-4, 6-7, 10-13, 16, 20- pricing strategies, competitive 6 22, 26-27 analysis, timing of internal 5:2-11, 14-21, 23-25 processes, wholesale sales including 7 6:1, 3-10, 13, 15-16, 17-23 specific Woolite Laundry Detergent 7:23-24, 26-28 unit sales information, and market 8 8:1-22, 26-28 research results. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 2- 9:1-7, 9, 19-28 5.) They further contain information 9 10:1-8, 14-17, 21-22, fn 3 derived from Reckitt’s trade secret 10 13:23, 26-27 claims substantiation protocol 17:14, 22 referred to internally as CS-3775. 11 18:10-18 (Id.) Public disclosure of this 19:1-4, 7-9 information could cause competitive 12 20:23-24 harm to Reckitt (Id.) Portions also 13 21:9 contain information related to a 22:1-2, 10 confidential proceeding before the 14 23:13 NAD. (Bunker Decl., ¶¶ 11-16.) The Declaration Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 15 Of Eric Kafka in 1:20-21, 26-26 seal contain confidential Support of 2:1 information regarding Reckitt’s 16 Plaintiffs’ Motion wholesale unit sales of Woolite 17 for Class Darks and Gentle Cycle laundry Certification detergent. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 6-7.) 18 (“Kafka Decl.”) Public disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to 19 Reckitt. (Id.) Ex. 2 Reckitt’s Sixth Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 20 Supplemental Table at Page 6 seal contain confidential information 21 Response To Table at Page 7 regarding circulation dates for Plaintiffs’ First Table at Page 8 certain Woolite product SKUs, the 22 Set Of Tables at Page 10 company’s financial tracking and Interrogatories 12:1-2, 17-26 accounting capabilities, specific 23 13:4-12 wholesale sales figures, unit counts, Page 14, footnote 1 internal Finished Good Numbers and 24 16:16, 18 component codes, and 25 Tables at Page 17 manufacturing data. (Tyrell Decl., Table at Page 18 ¶¶ 8-9.) Public disclosure of this 26 Attachment A, Page 1 information could cause competitive Attachment A, Page 2 harm to Reckitt (Id.) 27 Attachment A, Page 3 Attachment A, Page 5 1 Attachment A, Page 6 2 Attachment A, Page 7 Attachment A, Page 8 3 Attachment A, Page 9 Attachment A, Page 10 4 Attachment A, Page 11 Attachment A, Page 12 5 Attachment A, Page 13 6 Attachment A, Page 14 Attachment A, Page 15 7 Attachment A, Page 16 Attachment A, Page 17 8 Attachment A, Page 18 Ex. 3 Excerpts from Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 9 transcript of 8:22-23 seal contain confidential 10 deposition of 73:5-10, 17-25 information regarding wholesale Christopher 74:1-4, 12-15, 18-25 pricing strategies and Reckitt’s 11 Tedesco 75:1-2, 4-8, employee compensation 87:18 structure. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 10-11.) 12 88:4-6 Public disclosure of this information 89:6, 10 could cause competitive harm to 13 91:1, 8-12, 15 Reckitt. (Id.) The portions further 14 92:17, 20 contain Mr. Tedesco’s private home address, the public disclosure of 15 which would negatively impact his privacy rights. (Bunker Decl. ¶ 17.) 16 Ex. 4 Woolite Brand Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 17 History, RB0000246 seal contain confidential information RB0000244 RB0000247 regarding household penetration 18 RB0000249 rates and reflects Reckitt’s target consumer demographics developed 19 through market research. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 12-13.) Public disclosure 20 of this information could cause 21 competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) Ex. 5 2018 Media Plan Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 22 Communications RB0000733 seal contain confidential information Brief, RB000073 RB0000734 regarding household penetration 23 RB0000735 rates, marketing campaign results, budgeting, and competitive 24 strategies. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 14-15.) 25 Public disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to 26 Reckitt (Id.) Ex. 6 Project Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 27 Document, RB0013572 seal contain confidential information consumer demographics developed 1 through market research. (Tyrell 2 Decl., ¶¶ 16-17.) Public disclosure of this information could cause 3 competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) Ex. 7 Excerpts from Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 4 transcript of 26:2-5, 20, 23 seal contain confidential deposition of 28:6-8 information regarding product 5 Heidi Fuentes 33:21 testing, research and development, 6 37:3-4, 9-11, 15-20 product formulation (including 38:6-8, 10-17, 19-25 specific active ingredients), and costs 7 40:1-5, 11-12, 16-22 related to specific formulations. 41:11, 21, 25 (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 18-19.) The 8 43:1-11, 15-16 portions further contain discussions 44:3-18 of Reckitt’s trade secret claims 9 45:2-6, 12-15 substantiation protocol referred to 10 52:16-23 internally as CS-3775. (Id.) Public 62:4-7 disclosure of this information could 11 66:7-11, 13-15, 18-25 cause competitive harm to Reckitt. 67:1-4, 7-19, 21-25 (Id.) 12 68:1-9, 11-25 69:1-5, 7-25 13 70:8-11, 18-21, 25 14 76:1, 4-5, 7-24 77:2-25 15 78:1-8 80:2, 4-8, 20-25 16 87:13-14, 17-19 17 101:10-13, 18-21, 23-25 Ex. 8 Reckitt ’s Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 18 Supplemental Table at Page 6 seal contain confidential Response To Table at Page 7 information regarding Reckitt’s 19 Plaintiffs’ First Table at Page 8 product supply chain, financial Set Of 10:17-18 information, and trade secret 20 Interrogatories 11:5-6, 9-14, 20-28 testing protocols. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 21 13:13-28 20-22.) The portions further contain 14:1-11 information regarding Reckitt’s 22 highly confidential testing protocol (CS-3775). (Id.) Public disclosure 23 of this information could cause competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) 24 Ex. 11 August 5, 2016 Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 25 internal Reckitt RB0001400 seal contain confidential e-mail chain, RB0001401 information regarding market 26 RB0001401 performance, marketing spend, target market, and business 27 strategy. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 23-24.) could cause competitive harm to 1 Reckitt. (Id.) 2 Ex. 13 Presentation titled Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to “2017 US Plan RB0001320 seal contain confidential information 3 Woolite,” March RB0001321 regarding household penetration 28, 2016, RB0001322 rates, marketing campaign results, 4 RB0001319 RB0001323 budgeting, pricing analyses, RB0001325 profit statements, business 5 RB0001329 objectives, and competitive 6 RB0001331 strategies. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 25-26.) RB0001332 Public disclosure of this information 7 RB0001333 could cause competitive harm to RB0001334 Reckitt. (Id.) 8 RB0001335 RB0001336 9 RB0001337 10 RB0001338 RB0001339 11 RB0001341 Ex. 14 Presentation titled Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 12 “Follow up from RB0002631 seal contain confidential information LR sign off RB0002633 regarding business strategy, product 13 meeting,” RB0002634 development efforts, claims 14 RB0002630 RB0002635 substantiation work, marketing RB0002636 objectives, sales data, consumer 15 RB0002637 target/market research, budgeting, RB0002638 and complete profit and loss 16 RB0002639 statements and financial analysis for 17 RB0002640 Europe and the United States for RB0002642 Reckitt’s 18 RB0002643 entire household brands. (Tyrell RB0002645 Decl., ¶¶ 27-28.) Public disclosure 19 RB0002646 of this information could cause RB0002647 competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) 20 RB0002648 21 RB0002649 RB0002652 22 RB0002653 RB0002654 23 RB0002655 RB0002656 24 RB0002657 25 RB0002658 RB0002659 26 RB0002662 RB0002663 27 RB0002664 RB0002666 1 RB0002668 2 RB0002669 RB0002670 3 Ex. 15 Woolite RB Pre- In its entirety. Reckitt seeks to seal highly sensitive Read November, financial information including 4 RB0011710 Reckitt’s profit and loss statements for the Woolite brand, cost of goods, 5 pricing analysis, capital expenditures, 6 forward looking product innovation and explanations of Reckitt’s 7 detergent formulations and active ingredients. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 29-30.) 8 Public disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to 9 Reckitt. (Id.) 10 Ex. 16 Presentation titled Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to Woolite October RB0017973 seal contain confidential 11 RB0017973 RB0017974 information regarding Reckitt’s RB0017975 profit and loss statements for the 12 RB0017976 Woolite brand, competitive pricing RB0017977 analysis, and retailer partnership 13 RB0017978 strategies. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 31-32.) 14 RB0017979 The portions further contain business RB0017980 strategy, market research, and 15 RB0017981 financial information regarding RB0017982 Reckitt’s “Athly” product, which is 16 RB0017984 not at issue in this litigation. (Id.) 17 RB0017985 Public disclosure of this information RB0017987 could cause competitive harm to 18 RB0017988 Reckitt. (Id.) RB0017989 19 RB0017990 RB0017993 20 RB0017994 21 RB0017995 RB0017996 22 RB0017997 RB0017998 23 RB0017999 RB0018001 24 RB0018002 25 RB0018003 RB0018004 26 RB0018005 RB0018006 27 RB0018007 RB0018009 1 RB0018010 2 RB0018011 RB0018012 3 RB0018013 RB0018014 4 RB0018015 RB0018016 5 RB0018017 6 RB0018018 RB0018020 7 RB0018021 RB0018022 8 RB0018023 RB0018024 9 RB0018025 10 RB0018026 Ex. 17 Reply Expert Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 11 Report Of 1:20, 22 seal contain confidential Gregory A. 2:5, 6, 8 information regarding wholesale 12 Pinsonneault In 3:4, 9-11, 16 financial information for the Support Of 4:2, 6, 10, 12-15, 18, 20-22 Woolite brand, market performance, 13 Plaintiffs’ Motion 5:2-3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 19, 21, strategic business decisions, retail 14 For Class footnote 19 partners and pricing – including Certification 6:1, 3, 5, 8-11 enormous amounts of financial 15 7:5-6, 8, 10-12, 18-20, information and pricing analyses footnote 29, 30 derived from several years of 16 8:1, 3-5, 12, 15 Reckitt’s sensitive wholesale sales 17 Figure 1 at Page 9 data. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 33-34.) Figure 3 at Page 11 Public disclosure of this information 18 11:17, 20, 22-24 could cause competitive harm to 12:2, 4-9, 10-25 Reckitt. (Id.) 19 Figure 4 at Page 13 Figure 5 at Page 13 20 13:4-7, 10 21 14:1, 4-6, 8-10, 13-17 15:1, 5-21 22 footnote 53 16:9-11, 18 23 17:21-22, deposition excerpts 24 18:6-11, 17-22 25 19:1, 4-7, 11-14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25 26 20:1, 3-4, 11, 22 21:6, 8, 15-16, 18 27 Reply Exhibit B, Page 2 Reply Exhibit B, Page 4 1 Reply Exhibit B, Page 5 2 Reply Exhibit B, Page 6 Reply Exhibit B, Page 7 3 Reply Exhibit B, Page 8 Reply Exhibit B, Page 9 4 Reply Exhibit B, Page 10 Reply Exhibit B, Page 11 5 Reply Exhibit B, Page 12 6 Reply Exhibit B, Page 13 Reply Exhibit B, Page 14 7 Reply Exhibit B, Page 15 Reply Exhibit B, Page 16 8 Reply Exhibit B, Page 17 Reply Exhibit B, Page 18 9 Reply Exhibit B, Page 19 10 Reply Exhibit B, Page 20 Reply Exhibit B, Page 21 11 Reply Exhibit B, Page 22 Reply Exhibit B, Page 23 12 Reply Exhibit B, Page 24 Reply Exhibit B, Page 25 13 Reply Exhibit B, Page 26 14 Reply Exhibit B, Page 27 Reply Exhibit B, Page 28 15 Reply Exhibit B, Page 29 Reply Exhibit B, Page 30 16 Reply Exhibit B, Page 31 Reply Exhibit B, Page 33 17 Reply Exhibit B, Page 34 18 Reply Exhibit B, Page 36 Reply Exhibit B, Page 37 19 Reply Exhibit B, Page 39 Reply Exhibit B, Page 40 20 Reply Exhibit B, Page 41 21 Reply Exhibit B, Page 42 Reply Exhibit B, Page 43 22 Reply Exhibit B, Page 44 Reply Exhibit B, Page 45 23 Reply Exhibit B, Page 46 Reply Exhibit B, Page 47 24 Reply Exhibit B, Page 48 25 Reply Exhibit B, Page 49 Reply Exhibit B, Page 50 26 Reply Exhibit B, Page 51 Reply Exhibit B, Page 52 27 Reply Exhibit B, Page 53 Reply Exhibit B, Page 55 1 Reply Exhibit B, Page 56 2 Reply Exhibit B, Page 57 Reply Exhibit B, Page 58 3 Reply Exhibit B, Page 59 Reply Exhibit B, Page 60 4 Reply Exhibit B, Page 61 Reply Exhibit B, Page 62 5 Reply Exhibit B, Page 63 6 Reply Exhibit B, Page 64 Reply Exhibit B, Page 65 7 Reply Exhibit B, Page 66 Reply Exhibit B, Page 67 8 Reply Exhibit B, Page 68 Reply Exhibit B, Page 69 9 Reply Exhibit B, Page 70 10 Reply Exhibit B, Page 71 Reply Exhibit B, Page 72 11 Reply Exhibit B, Page 73 Reply Exhibit B, Page 74 12 Reply Exhibit B, Page 75 Reply Exhibit B, Page 76 13 Reply Exhibit B, Page 77 14 Reply Exhibit B, Page 78 Reply Exhibit B, Page 79 15 Reply Exhibit B, Page 80 Reply Exhibit B, Page 81 16 Reply Exhibit B, Page 82 Reply Exhibit B, Page 83 17 Reply Exhibit B, Page 84 18 Reply Exhibit B, Page 85 Reply Exhibit B, Page 86 19 Reply Exhibit B, Page 87 Reply Exhibit B, Page 88 20 Reply Exhibit B, Page 89 21 Reply Exhibit B, Page 90 Reply Exhibit B, Page 91 22 Reply Exhibit B, Page 92 Reply Exhibit B, Page 93 23 Reply Exhibit B, Page 94 Reply Exhibit B, Page 95 24 Reply Exhibit B, Page 96 25 Reply Exhibit B, Page 97 Reply Exhibit B, Page 98 26 Reply Exhibit B, Page 99 Reply Exhibit B, Page 100 27 Reply Exhibit B, Page 101 Reply Exhibit B, Page 103 1 Reply Exhibit B, Page 104 2 Ex. 18 Project Brief, Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to RB0001867 RB0001867 seal contain confidential 3 RB0001868 information regarding sensitive RB0001869 business strategy, financial 4 RB0001870 information, and product RB0001871 development targets and reflects 5 RB0001872 Reckitt’s internal processes for new 6 product development. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 35-36.) Public disclosure of this 7 information could cause competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) 8 Ex. 19 Presentation titled Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to “Woolite RB0002701 seal contain confidential 9 Detergent 2017 RB0002702 information regarding pricing 10 Category Growth RB0002703 strategies and analyses. (Tyrell Strategy,” RB0002704 Decl., ¶¶ 37-38.) Public disclosure 11 RB0002700 RB0002707 of this information could cause RB0002709 competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) 12 RB0002711 RB0002712 13 RB0002713 14 Ex. 20 Expert Report of Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to Gregory A. Table of Contents, line 17 seal contain confidential 15 Pinsonneault In 10:22, 24, 26 information regarding wholesale Support Of 11:1, 4-5, 11, 16-17 financial information for the 16 Plaintiffs’ Motion 12:9, 14, 17-18, 23-24 Woolite brand, market performance, 17 For Class 13:9 strategic business decisions, retail Certification 14:15-16 partners and pricing – including 18 Figure 1 at Page 15 enormous amounts of financial 15:9-11, 15, 24. 36 information and pricing analyses 19 16:1-7, 11, 15, 17-21 derived from several years of 17:1-15 Reckitt’s sensitive wholesale sales 20 18:1, 14, 19, 21 data. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 33-34.) 21 Figure 2 at Page 18 Public disclosure of this information 19:1-2, 5-7, 9, 12, 22-27 could cause competitive harm to 22 20:1-10, 12, 14-16 Reckitt. (Id.) 21:1-4, 8-9, 13-16, 18, 20 23 22:1, 4-5, 7-9, 15-16, 21, 25, 26-27 24 23:1, 4, 19-20, 25 25 24:9-13, 15, 19-23 25:1, 8-10, 12-14, 18-25 26 26:1, 4, 17-18, 20-22 Figure 3 at Page 27 27 27:12-16, 19-21, 23-24 29:2-5, 22-25, footnote 56 1 Figure 4 at Page 29 2 Figure 5 at Page 30 30:12-16, 20-23 3 31:4, 6, 8, 12-15, footnote 58 4 32:2 Exhibit B, Page 2 5 Exhibit B, Page 3 6 Exhibit B, Page 4 Exhibit B, Page 5 7 Exhibit B, Page 7 Exhibit B, Page 8 8 Exhibit B, Page 9 Exhibit B, Page 10 9 Exhibit B, Page 11 10 Exhibit B, Page 12 Exhibit B, Page 13 11 Exhibit B, Page 14 Exhibit B, Page 15 12 Exhibit B, Page 16 Exhibit B, Page 17 13 Exhibit B, Page 18 14 Exhibit B, Page 19 Exhibit B, Page 20 15 Exhibit B, Page 21 Exhibit B, Page 22 16 Exhibit B, Page 23 Exhibit B, Page 24 17 Exhibit B, Page 25 18 Exhibit B, Page 26 Exhibit B, Page 27 19 Exhibit B, Page 29 Exhibit B, Page 30 20 Exhibit B, Page 32 21 Exhibit B, Page 33 Exhibit B, Page 35 22 Exhibit B, Page 36 Exhibit B, Page 37 23 Exhibit B, Page 38 Exhibit B, Page 39 24 Exhibit B, Page 40 25 Exhibit B, Page 41 Exhibit B, Page 42 26 Exhibit B, Page 43 Exhibit B, Page 44 27 Exhibit B, Page 45 Exhibit B, Page 47 1 Exhibit B, Page 48 2 Exhibit B, Page 49 Exhibit B, Page 50 3 Exhibit B, Page 51 Exhibit B, Page 52 4 Exhibit B, Page 53 Exhibit B, Page 54 5 Exhibit B, Page 55 6 Exhibit B, Page 56 Exhibit B, Page 57 7 Exhibit B, Page 58 Exhibit B, Page 59 8 Exhibit B, Page 60 Exhibit B, Page 61 9 Exhibit B, Page 62 10 Exhibit B, Page 63 Exhibit B, Page 64 11 Exhibit B, Page 65 Exhibit B, Page 66 12 Exhibit B, Page 67 Exhibit B, Page 68 13 Exhibit B, Page 69 14 Exhibit B, Page 70 Exhibit B, Page 71 15 Exhibit B, Page 72 Exhibit B, Page 73 16 Exhibit B, Page 74 Exhibit B, Page 75 17 Exhibit B, Page 76 18 Exhibit B, Page 77 Exhibit B, Page 78 19 Exhibit B, Page 79 Exhibit B, Page 80 20 Exhibit B, Page 81 21 Exhibit B, Page 82 Exhibit B, Page 83 22 Exhibit B, Page 84 Exhibit B, Page 85 23 Exhibit B, Page 86 Exhibit B, Page 87 24 Exhibit B, Page 88 25 Exhibit B, Page 89 Exhibit B, Page 90 26 Exhibit B, Page 91 Exhibit B, Page 92 27 Exhibit B, Page 93 Exhibit B, Page 95 1 Exhibit B, Page 96 2 Exhibit B, Page 97 Exhibit B, Page 98 3 Exhibit B, Page 99 Exhibit B, Page 100 4 Ex. 22 October 13,2016 Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to internal Reckitt e- RB0017934 seal contain confidential 5 mail chain, RB0017935 information regarding the emails for 6 RB0017930 RB0017936 over seventy Reckitt employees. RB0017937 (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 39-40.) Public 7 RB0017938 disclosure of this information could RB0017939 cause competitive harm to Reckitt. 8 (Id.) Ex. 23 Presentation titled Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 9 “Woolite 2017 RB0005910 seal contain confidential 10 Priorities and RB0005911 information regarding household Supporting RB0005912 penetration rates, budgeting and 11 Materials,” RB0005913 investment, Woolite Laundry RB0005909 RB0005916 Detergent product formulation 12 RB0005919 ingredients, and Reckitt’s target RB0005920 consumer demographics developed 13 RB0005922 through market research and other 14 RB0005924 market research conclusions. (Tyrell RB0005925 Decl., ¶¶ 41-42.) Public disclosure 15 RB0005926 of this information could cause RB0005927 competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) 16 RB0005928 17 Ex. 24 December 13, Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 2016 internal RB0013129 seal contain confidential internal 18 Reckitt e-mail communications regarding pricing chain, changes. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 43-44.) 19 RB0013128 Public disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to 20 Reckitt. (Id.) 21 Ex. 25 Presentation titled Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to “Resolve Carpet RB0013135 seal contain confidential financial 22 2017 Category RB0013136 information regarding household Growth Strategy,” RB0013137 penetration rates, budgeting and 23 RB0013134 RB0013138 investment, and Woolite Laundry RB0013139 Detergent product formulation 24 RB0013140 ingredients. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 45-47.) 25 RB0013141 The portions also reflect Reckitt’s RB0013142 target consumer demographics 26 RB0013143 developed through market research RB0013144 and other market research 27 RB0013145 conclusions. (Id.) Public disclosure RB0013147 of this information could cause 1 RB0013148 competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) 2 RB0013149 RB0013151 3 RB0013152 RB0013153 4 RB0013154 RB0013157 5 RB0013159 6 RB0013161 RB0013162 7 RB0013163 RB0013164 8 RB0013165 RB0013166 9 RB0013167 10 RB0013168 RB0013169 11 RB0013170 RB0013171 12 RB0013172 RB0013173 13 RB0013174 14 RB0013175 RB0013176 15 Ex. 26 Pricing In its entirety. Defendant seeks to seal a copy of Information, Reckitt’s confidential and highly 16 RB0002943 sensitive pricing analyses conducted 17 internally by Reckitt. (Tyrell Decl. ¶¶ 48-49). Public disclosure of this 18 information could cause competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) 19 Ex. 27 Expert Report Of Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to Plaintiffs’ Expert Page 2, Paragraph 10 seal contain discussions of Reckitt’s 20 Randy Meirowitz Page 7, Paragraph 29 trade secret claims substantiation 21 Page 10, Paragraph 35 protocol referred to internally as CS- Page 12, Paragraph 37 3775. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 50-51.) The 22 Page 14, Paragraph 43 methodology behind the protocol Page 18, Paragraph 49, 51- was specifically developed by 23 52 Reckitt’s internal Research & Page 19, Paragraph 52-54 Development team and constitutes 24 Page 20, Paragraph 54-55 highly sensitive information that is 25 Page 21, Paragraph 56 treated as a trade secret by Reckitt in Table 2 at Page 21 the ordinary course of business. (Id.) 26 Page 22, Paragraph 57, 61 Public disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to 27 Reckitt. (Id.) Ex. 28 Reply Report Of Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to 1 Plaintiffs’ Expert Page 2, Paragraph 7 seal contain confidential discussions 2 Randy Meirowitz Page 3, Footnote 9 of Reckitt’s trade secret claims Page 4, Paragraph 11-12 substantiation protocol referred to 3 Page 5, Paragraph 12-14 internally as CS-3775. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 50-51.) The methodology behind 4 the protocol was specifically developed by Reckitt’s internal 5 Research & Development team and 6 constitutes highly sensitive information that is treated as a trade 7 secret by Reckitt in the ordinary course of business. (Id.) Public 8 disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to Reckitt. 9 (Id.) 10 Ex. 30 CS-3775, In its entirety. Defendant seeks to seal a copy of RB0000073 Reckitt’s confidential trade secret 11 claims substantiation testing protocol (CS-3775). (Tyrell Decl. ¶¶ 52-53.) 12 The methodology behind the protocol was specifically developed 13 by Reckitt’s internal Research & 14 Development team and constitutes highly sensitive information that is 15 treated as a trade secret by Reckitt in the ordinary course of business. (Id.) 16 The public disclosure of this 17 information could cause competitive harm to Reckitt’s. (Id.) 18 Ex. 31 May 3, 2019 letter In its entirety. Reckitt seeks to seal a submission by from Proctor & Procter & Gamble regarding 19 Gamble to the Reckitt’s advertising as part of a National confidential NAD proceeding. 20 Advertising (Bunker Decl., ¶¶ 11-16.) This 21 Division, confidentiality requirement is PLTF0000372 important to facilitate NAD’s dispute 22 resolution process, and Reckitt would be harmed if the materials it 23 submitted in the NAD proceedings were publicly disclosed despite the 24 parties and NAD’s expectations and 25 requirements that this information remain confidential. (Id.) 26 Ex. 32 Excerpts from Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks to transcript of 48:21-23 seal contain confidential discussions 27 deposition of of Reckitt’s trade secret claims internally as CS-3775. (Tyrell Decl., 1 ¶¶ 54-55.) The methodology behind 2 the protocol was specifically developed by Reckitt’s internal 3 Research & Development team and constitutes highly sensitive 4 information that is treated as a trade secret by Reckitt in the ordinary 5 course of business. (Id.) Public 6 disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to Reckitt. 7 (Id.) Ex. 33 December 2, 2016 Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks 8 e-mail chain RB0017312 to seal contain confidential specific between Daniel RB0017313 testing protocols developed internally 9 Redmon and Ron by Reckitt’s Research & 10 Peterson, Development team as well as testing RB0017311 results. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 56-57.) 11 Public disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to 12 Reckitt. (Id.) Ex. 34 September 30, Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks 13 2016 internal RB0017269 to seal contain confidential specific 14 Reckitt e-mail testing protocols developed internally chain, by Reckitt’s Research & 15 RB0017268 Development team. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 58-59.) Public disclosure of this 16 information could cause competitive 17 harm to Reckitt. (Id.) Ex. 36 December 19, Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks 18 2016 e-mail chain RB0017334 to seal contain confidential specific between Ron RB0017335 testing protocols developed internally 19 Peterson and RB0017336 by Reckitt’s Research & Daniel Redmon, RB0017337 Development team as well as testing 20 RB0017334 RB0017338 results. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 56-57.) 21 RB0017339 Public disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to 22 Reckitt. (Id. ) Ex. 37 March 17, 2019 In its entirety. Defendant seeks to seal a submission 23 letter from by Procter & Gamble regarding Proctor & Gamble Reckitt’s advertising as part of a 24 to the National confidential NAD proceeding. 25 Advertising (Bunker Decl., ¶¶ 11-16.) This Division confidentiality requirement is 26 important to facilitate NAD’s dispute resolution process, and Reckitt would 27 be harmed if the materials it were publicly disclosed despite the 1 parties and NAD’s expectations and 2 requirements that this information remain confidential. (Id.) 3 Ex. 40 April 3, 2019 In its entirety. Reckitt seeks to seal its submission response letter as part of a confidential NAD 4 from Reckitt to proceeding initiated by its Proctor & Gamble competitor, Procter & Gamble. 5 (Bunker Decl., ¶¶ 11-16.) This 6 confidentiality requirement is important to facilitate NAD’s dispute 7 resolution process, and Reckitt would be harmed if the materials it 8 submitted in the NAD proceedings were publicly disclosed despite the 9 parties and NAD’s expectations and 10 requirements that this information remain confidential. (Id.) 11 12 B. Sealing Motions Re Opposition to Class Certification (ECF 119, 120, 122) 13 Reckitt has filed a motion to seal (ECF 119) portions of its opposition to class certification 14 and supporting exhibits on the basis that those filings contain confidential Reckitt materials that 15 satisfy the compelling reasons test for sealing. Reckitt argues that compelling reasons exist to seal 16 the materials at issue, and that its sealing requests are narrowly tailored to redact only those 17 portions of the filings that disclose confidential, non-public information related to Reckitt’s 18 internal business strategies, competitive analyses, trade secrets, product development plans, and 19 financial information. Reckitt’s sealing motion is supported by the declarations of Chris Tyrell 20 (ECF 119-1), Reckitt’s Senior Brand Manager, Household, and Khirin A. Bunker (ECF 119-2), 21 Reckitt’s counsel in this case. 22 Reckitt also has filed a motion to consider whether another party’s materials should be 23 sealed (ECF 120), seeking to seal portions of three exhibits filed in support of its opposition on the 24 basis that Plaintiffs have designated the exhibits as confidential. Consistent with the Court’s Civil 25 Local Rules, Plaintiffs have responded by filing an administrative motion to file under seal (ECF 26 122), seeking to seal a portion of only one of the exhibits in question, Exhibit 7. Exhibit 7 is an 27 excerpt of the transcript of the deposition of Plaintiff Maria Christine Anello. Plaintiffs seek to 1 Anello’s telephone number. Reckitt does not oppose sealing of the designated lines of the 2 deposition transcript. 3 Reckitt’s motion to seal (ECF 119) its own confidential materials is GRANTED. The 4 declarations of Mr. Tyrell and Mr. Bunker establish that the materials at issue relate to Reckitt’s 5 internal business strategies, competitive analyses, trade secrets, product development plans, and 6 financial information. See Tyrell Decl., ECF 119-1; Bunker Decl., ECF 119-2. Those materials 7 are an appropriate subject for sealing. See Tevra Brands LLC v. Bayer Healthcare LLC, No. 19- 8 CV-04312-BLF, 2021 WL 4710695, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 7, 2021) (“The Court finds that the 9 parties’ requests are compelling given the sensitive financial and business information at issue.”). 10 The Court also finds that Reckitt’s sealing request is narrowly tailored to redact only sealable 11 material from the public docket. Finally, given the nature of the information, and Reckitt’s narrow 12 tailoring of its sealing requests, the Court finds that Reckitt has shown compelling reasons for 13 sealing and that Reckitt’s interest in keeping its confidential information private outweighs the 14 public’s interest in access to the information. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. 15 Reckitt’s motion to seal (ECF 120) Plaintiffs’ confidential materials is GRANTED IN 16 PART with respect to the portions of Exhibit 7 designated by Plaintiffs and otherwise is DENIED. 17 Plaintiffs’ motion to seal (ECF 122) the designated portions of Exhibit 7 is GRANTED. The 18 Court’s rulings are summarized in the following chart. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 ECF Document Portion(s) to Seal Reason(s) for Sealing 1 / Ex. No. 2 3 Defendant’s Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks Opposition to to seal contain confidential 4 Plaintiffs’ Motion 2:4, 6-7, 9 information regarding Reckitt’s 5 for Class 8:2, 5 sensitive financial Certification information regarding specific 6 9:7-8, 11-12, 15, 20 Woolite Laundry Detergent wholesale unit sales, wholesale 7 10:16-17, 21 pricing information, and includes confidential project names which 8 11:10, 15 Reckitt uses to internally track its 9 12:20, 22 Research & Development projects and product formulations. (Tyrell 10 15:17-19, 21 Decl. ¶¶ 2-3.) Public disclosure of this information could cause 11 20:25 competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.)
12 22:16 13 24:23, 26 14 25:2, 6-7, 10-12, 18-21 15 27: 3-4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14-15, 16 17-18 17 28: 2, 8-9 18 30: 10-11
19 Ex. 1 Expert Rebuttal Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks Report of Martin Page 2, Paragraph 6 to seal contain confidential 20 Bide, Ph.D. Page 3, Paragraph 6, 8 information regarding product testing 21 Page 6, Paragraph 14-16 and Reckitt’s trade secret claims Page 8, Paragraph 22, 24- substantiation protocol referred to 22 25 internally as CS-3775. (Tyrell Decl. Page 9, Paragraph 25-27, ¶¶ 4-5.) Public disclosure of this 23 Image information could cause competitive 24 Page 10, Paragraph 28-29, harm to Reckitt. (Id.) Portions also Image caption contain information related to a 25 Page 11, Paragraph 29 confidential proceeding before the Page 12, Paragraph 29-31 NAD. (Bunker Decl., ¶¶ 2-6.) 26 Page 13, Paragraph 31, 33 Public disclosure of this information Page 14, Paragraph 34, 35, could cause competitive harm to 27 Images Reckitt. (Id.) Page 15, Paragraph 35, 37 1 Image 2 Page 21, Paragraph 48, footnote 16 3 Page 22, Paragraph 48, footnote 19 4 Page 23, Paragraph 54, footnote 21 5 Page 24, Paragraph 54, 55 6 Page 25, Paragraph 55-57 Page 27, Paragraph 59, 61, 7 62, footnote 25 Page 28, Paragraph 62-64, 8 footnote 26 Page 29, Paragraph 64-66, 9 Image 10 Page 30, Paragraph 67 Page 31, Paragraph 72-74 11 Exhibit 2, Page 4 Ex. 2 Expert Rebuttal Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks 12 Report of Dr. Page 4, footnote 10, 12, to seal contain confidential Justin Lenzo 14, 16, 18 information regarding Reckitt’s retail 13 Page 5, footnote 20 distribution/partners, specific 14 Page 6, Paragraph 25(c) wholesale pricing and pricing Page 12, Paragraph 34, strategy, and market analyses 15 footnote 70 (Tyrell Decl. ¶¶ 6-7.) Public Page 13, Paragraph 35, 36, disclosure of this information could 16 37, 38 cause competitive harm to Reckitt. 17 Page 14, Paragraph 38, 39, (Id.) footnote 79 18 Page 15, Paragraph 42 Page 17, Paragraph 45, 46, 19 header 1, footnote 94 Page 18, Paragraph 47, 48, 20 49 21 Page 19, Paragraph 49, 50, footnote 101, 103 22 Page 20, Paragraph 50, 51, 52, 53, footnote 106, 107 23 Page 21, Paragraph 54, 55 Page 22, Paragraph 55 24 Page 23, Paragraph 56, 57 25 Page 24, Paragraph 57, 58, 59, header 2 26 Page 25, Paragraph 59, 60, 61, 62, footnote 135 27 Page 26, Paragraph 62, 63, Page 27, Paragraph 64, 65, 1 66 2 Page 28, Paragraph 68, 69, footnote 152 3 Page 29, Paragraph 70, 71 footnote 154 4 Exhibit 3, Table Exhibit 4, Table 5 Exhibit 5, Graph 6 Ex. 4 Transcript of Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks Deposition for 39:25-40:6 to seal contain confidential 7 Heidi Fuentes 40:16, 18, 21 information regarding Reckitt’s Woolite Laundry Detergent 8 formulation, confidential project names, development, and 9 composition. (Tyrell Decl. ¶¶ 8-9.) 10 Public disclosure of this information could cause competitive harm to 11 Reckitt. (Id.) Ex. 7 Transcript of Line 46:23-25 Contains Plaintiff Anello’s telephone 12 Deposition for number. Maria Christine 13 Anello 14 Ex. 13 Transcript of Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks Deposition for 115:20-116:9 to seal contain confidential 15 Christopher 116:11-14, 20-25 information regarding Reckitt’s Tedesco 117:1-117:23 Woolite Laundry Detergent market 16 118:1-19 analyses, strategic business 17 119:4-121:22 decisions, retail partners, and 121:24 wholesale pricing decisions. (Tyrell 18 Decl. ¶¶ 10-11.) Public disclosure of this information could cause 19 competitive harm to Reckitt. (Id.) Ex. 14 Declaration of Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks 20 Chris Tyrell in 2:22 to seal contain confidential 21 Support of 3:7-8, Table A information regarding the circulation Opposition to Page 4, Table A dates for certain Woolite product 22 Class Page 5, Table A SKUs, describe the company’s Certification Page 6, Table B financial tracking and accounting 23 Page 7, Table C capabilities, and provide specific Page 8, Table C wholesale sales figures, unit counts, 24 8:26-27 internal Finished Good Numbers, 25 9:1, 3-6, 11, 15, 17-18, confidential formula and project Table names, and manufacturing data. 26 Page 10, Table (Tyrell Decl. ¶¶ 12-13.) Public 10:24 disclosure of this information could 27 cause competitive harm to Reckitt. 1 C. Sealing Motions Re Reply in Support of Class Certification (ECF 123, 125) 2 Plaintiffs have filed a motion to consider whether another party’s materials should be 3 sealed (ECF 123), noting that portions of their reply in support of class certification contain 4 materials designated as confidential by Reckitt. 5 Consistent with the Court’s Civil Local Rules, Reckitt has responded by filing an 6 administrative motion to file under seal (ECF 125) the subject portions of Plaintiffs’ reply and 7 supporting exhibits. Reckitt argues that compelling reasons exist to seal the materials at issue, and 8 that its sealing requests are narrowly tailored to redact only those portions of the filings that 9 disclose confidential, non-public information related to Reckitt’s trade secrets and financial 10 information. Reckitt’s sealing motion is supported by the declarations of Chris Tyrell (ECF 125- 11 1), Reckitt’s Senior Brand Manager, Household, and Khirin A. Bunker (ECF 125-2), Reckitt’s 12 counsel in this case. 13 Plaintiffs have filed a reply (ECF 118) asserting that none of the Reckitt materials at issue 14 should be sealed, that Reckitt has not met the compelling reasons test for sealing, and that the 15 public has a right to access all materials filed in connection with the pending class certification 16 motion. 17 The declarations of Mr. Tyrell and Mr. Bunker establish that the materials in question 18 relate to Reckitt’s trade secrets and financial information and are entitled to protection on that 19 basis. See Tevra Brands LLC v. Bayer Healthcare LLC, No. 19-CV-04312-BLF, 2021 WL 20 4710695, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 7, 2021) (“The Court finds that the parties’ requests are compelling 21 given the sensitive financial and business information at issue.”). The Court also finds that 22 Reckitt’s sealing request is narrowly tailored to redact only sealable material from the public 23 docket. Finally, given the nature of the information, and Reckitt’s narrow tailoring of its sealing 24 requests, the Court finds that Reckitt has established compelling reasons for sealing and that 25 Reckitt’s interest in keeping its confidential information private outweighs the public’s interest in 26 access to the information. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. 27 Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ sealing motion (123) and Reckitt’s sealing motion (125) are 1 ECF Document Portion(s) to Seal Reason(s) for Sealing 2 / Ex. No. 3 4 Plaintiffs’ Reply Highlighted portions of: The portions that Reckitt seeks in Support of Table of Contents to seal contain confidential 5 Motion For Class 1:8-9, 17-19 information regarding Reckitt’s Certification 6:22-24 wholesale pricing strategies, specific 6 (“Plaintiffs’ 8:26-27 retailer and channel price increases, 7 Reply”) 9:1-12 timing of internal processes, and 11:13-17, 19-20 pricing research. (Tyrell Decl., ¶¶ 2- 8 12:3-4, 9-14 5.) They further contain information 13:19, 21-28 derived from Reckitt’s trade secret 9 14:1-2 claims substantiation protocol referred to internally as CS-3775. 10 (Id.) Public disclosure of this 11 information could cause competitive harm to Reckitt (Id.) 12 Portions also contain information 13 related to a confidential proceeding 14 before the NAD. (Bunker Decl., ¶¶ 3-5.) 15
17 18 III. ORDER 19 (1) Sealing motions addressing Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and supporting 20 exhibits: 21 (a) Plaintiffs’ Administrative Motion to Consider Whether Another Party’s 22 Materials Should be Sealed in Connection with Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class 23 Certification (ECF 110) is GRANTED as set forth herein. 24 (b) Reckitt’s Administrative Motion to File Under Seal Plaintiffs’ Motion for 25 Class Certification and Related Documents (ECF 114) is GRANTED as set 26 forth herein. 27 (2) Sealing motions addressing Reckitt’s opposition to class certification and 1 (a) Reckitt’s Administrative Motion to File Under Seal Defendant’s Opposition 2 to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification and Related Documents (ECF 3 119) is GRANTED as set forth herein. 4 (b) Reckitt’s Administrative Motion to Consider Whether Another Party’s 5 Materials Should be Sealed in Connection with Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class 6 Certification (ECF 120) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART 7 as set forth herein. 8 (c) Plaintiffs’ Administrative Motion to File Under Seal an Excerpt of Exhibit 7 9 to Defendant Reckitt Benckiser’s Opposition to Class Certification (ECF 10 122) is GRANTED as set forth herein. 11 (3) Sealing motions addressing Plaintiffs’ reply in support of class certification: 12 (a) Plaintiffs’ Administrative Motion to Consider Whether Another Party’s 5 13 Materials Should be Filed Under Seal in Connection with Plaintiffs’ Reply 14 in Support of Motion for Class Certification (ECF 123) is GRANTED as set 3 15 forth herein. a 16 (b) Reckitt’s Administrative Motion to File Under Seal Plaintiffs’ Reply in 3 17 Support of Motion for Class Certification and Related Documents (ECF 18 125) is GRANTED as set forth herein. 19 (4) This order terminates ECF 110, 114, 119, 120, 122, 123, and 125. 20 21 || Dated: March 22, 2022 han hom Lown amen) BETH LABSON FREEMAN 23 United States District Judge 24 25 26 27 28