Steele v. City of Burlington

334 F. Supp. 3d 972
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Iowa
DecidedAugust 14, 2018
DocketNo. 3:16-cv-00105 – JEG
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 334 F. Supp. 3d 972 (Steele v. City of Burlington) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Steele v. City of Burlington, 334 F. Supp. 3d 972 (S.D. Iowa 2018).

Opinion

JAMES E. GRITZNER, Senior Judge

This matter comes before the Court on the Motion to Unseal, ECF No. 79, by Intervenors Randy Evans (Evans) and Iowa Freedom of Information Council (Iowa FOI Council) (collectively, Intervenors). Defendants City of Burlington (the City) and Officer Jesse Hill (Hill) (collectively, Defendants) resist. The Court conducted a hearing on the Motion on August 1, 2018. Attorney Michael Giudicessi was present for Intervenors, attorney David O'Brien was present for Plaintiffs, and attorneys Martha Shaff and Brandon Lobberecht were present for Defendants. The matter is fully submitted and ready for disposition.

I. BACKGROUND

On November 14, 2016, Plaintiffs Gabriel Steele (Gabriel), individually, as executor of the estate of his deceased wife Autumn Steele (Autumn) and as next of friend for his minor child, G.S.; Sean Schoff, as next of friend for his minor child, K.S.; and Gina Colbert (collectively, Plaintiffs) filed this lawsuit against Defendants. This lawsuit stems from Autumn's tragic death on January 6, 2015, when she was struck by an errant bullet fired by Officer Hill in response to what Hill perceived as a threat from the Steeles' family dog.

Plaintiffs charged Defendants under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating their rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Plaintiffs also sued under Article I, §§ 8 and 9 of the Iowa Constitution and asserted various claims under Iowa tort law against Defendants. Several counts were dismissed by the Court in a prior order on Defendants' motion to dismiss. Steele v. City of Burlington, No. 3:16-cv-00105-JEG (S.D. Iowa May 8, 2017), ECF No. 20.

Early in the case, the parties agreed to the entry of a Protective Order to avoid public disclosure of some case documents. On January 12, 2018, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Consistent with their Protective Order, the parties' briefs and other documents relating to the cross-motions for summary judgment were filed under seal. On February 24, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a motion to unseal the summary judgment record. The parties' briefs filed in support of and in resistance to Plaintiffs' motion to unseal were filed under seal. On May 24, 2018, the Court held a hearing on the cross-motions for summary judgment. On June *9765, 2018, prior to the Court's ruling on the pending motions, counsel notified the Court that the case had settled. Thus, the Court did not ultimately decide the motions, and on June 6, 2018, all deadlines and pending motions before the Court were terminated. On August 7, 2018, counsel stipulated to the dismissal of all causes of action filed by Plaintiffs against Defendants, with prejudice, pursuant to the terms of their settlement.

On June 12, 2018, Intervenors filed their motion to unseal all court filings in this case. Evans is executive director of the Iowa FOI Council, a non-profit corporation that "serves as an umbrella organization that seeks to foster and protect access to information from and about government, including the courts." Intervenors' Mot. Unseal ¶ 9, ECF No. 79. The Iowa FOI Council's membership includes, inter alia , the Armstrong Journal , the Business Record , Cedar Rapids Gazette Company, Cityview , Des Moines Register and Tribune Company, Iowa Public Television, N'West Iowa REVIEW , Quad-City Times , Sioux City Journal , and the Storm Lake Times. On June 26, 2018, Defendants filed their resistance, and on July 5, 2018, Intervenors filed their Reply. Plaintiffs do not resist the Motion.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard for the Motion

The Court "has supervisory control over its records." Flynt v. Lombardi, 885 F.3d 508, 511 (8th Cir. 2018). "Whether or not to seal a court file is a decision 'best left to the sound discretion of the trial court.' " Duckworth v. St. Louis Metro. Police Dep't, 654 F. App'x 249, 250 (8th Cir. 2016) (unpublished per curiam) (quoting United States v. Webbe, 791 F.2d 103, 106 (8th Cir. 1986) ).

B. Common-Law Right of Access

Intervenors assert they have a common-law right of access to the court filings in this case. "Generally speaking, there is a common-law right of access to judicial records, but that right is not absolute." Flynt, 885 F.3d at 511 (citing Nixon v. Warner Commc'ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597-98, 98 S.Ct. 1306, 55 L.Ed.2d 570 (1978) ) ). "The primary rationales for this right are the public's confidence in, and the accountability of, the judiciary." Id. (citing IDT Corp. v. eBay, 709 F.3d 1220, 1222 (8th Cir. 2013) ). "Whether the common-law presumption can be overcome is determined by balancing 'the interests served by the common-law right of access ... against the salutary interests served by maintaining confidentiality of the information sought to be sealed.' " Id. (alteration in original) (quoting IDT, 709 F.3d at 1223 ). "In order to adjudicate the issue, [the Court] must first decide if the documents in question are 'judicial records,' and if so, must next consider whether the party seeking to prevent disclosure has overcome the common-law right of access that would otherwise apply to such records." Id. (quoting IDT, 709 F.3d at 1222-23 ).

1.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
334 F. Supp. 3d 972, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/steele-v-city-of-burlington-iasd-2018.