Allen v. American Capital Limited et al

Filing 193

ORDER: IT IS ORDERED that Defendant Scientific Protein Laboratories' Motion that Portions of Certain Exhibits Remain Under Seal, (Doc. 186 ), is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part; the Clerk of the Court shall file under seal Doc. 187 and Doc. 187-1 [see attached Order for details]. Signed by Senior Judge James A Teilborg on 12/22/17. (MAW)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Charlisa Allen, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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ORDER

v.

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No. CV-16-02876-PHX-JAT

American Capital Limited, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Pending before the Court is Defendant Scientific Protein Laboratories’ motion to

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seal portions of certain exhibits that are currently lodged at Doc. 187 and Doc. 187-1.

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(Doc. 186.)

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I.

Procedural Background

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On November 7, 2017, this Court rejected Plaintiffs’ request to seal Plaintiffs’

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Controverting Statement of Facts in Opposition to Defendants Baxter Healthcare

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Corporation’s and Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC’s (“SPL”) Motion for Summary

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Judgment and many of the accompanying exhibits. (Doc. 180; Doc. 173.) In doing so,

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this Court set a five-day limit for: (1) the parties to confer to determine whether

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Defendants would withdraw confidential designations from their documents that

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Plaintiffs sought to file; (2) Plaintiffs to file the aforementioned documents in an unsealed

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format, with redactions for information that Defendants sought to seal; and (3)

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Defendants to move to seal such information. (Doc. 180 at 2–3.) On SPL’s request,

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Plaintiffs filed redacted versions of six exhibits and SPL now moves to seal the

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unredacted versions of these exhibits. (Doc. 186.)
II.

Legal Standards

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The public has a “general right to inspect and copy public records and documents,

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including judicial records and documents.” Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S.

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589, 597 (1978). To assist the public’s ability to both monitor public agencies and better

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understand the “judicial process,” there is a strong presumption in favor of public access

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to court documents. Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178–79 (9th

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Cir. 2006) (quoting Hagestad v. Tragesser, 49 F.3d 1430, 1434 (9th Cir. 1995)). To

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overcome this strong presumption in the dispositive motion context, a party must set forth

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“compelling reasons” supported by specific factual findings.

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balancing the party’s interest against the public’s interest, the Court determines that it is

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appropriate to seal the records, “it must ‘base its decision on a compelling reason and

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articulate the factual basis for its ruling, without relying on hypothesis or conjecture.’”

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Id. at 1179 (quoting Hagestad, 49 F.3d at 1434).

Id. at 1178.

If, after

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Generally, compelling reasons exist where a non-party might use the records for

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“improper purposes,” such as “to gratify private spite, promote public scandal, circulate

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libelous statements, or release trade secrets.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (emphasis

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added) (quoting Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598). A trade secret is a “process or device for

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continuous use in the operation of business,” and “may consist of any formula, pattern,

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device, or compilation of information which is used in one’s business and which gives

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him an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it.”

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Clark v. Bunker, 453 F.2d 1006, 1009 (9th Cir. 1972) (quoting Restatement (First) of

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Torts § 757, cmt. b (Am. L. Inst. 1939)).

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III.

Analysis

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SPL moves to seal unredacted versions of six redacted exhibits attached to

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Plaintiffs’ materials filed in opposition to SPL’s motion for summary judgment. (Doc.

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186 at 3.) Five of these exhibits—Exhibits 13, 14, 18, 21, and 86—discuss SPL’s

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manufacturing and testing process, while Exhibit 97 contains SPL’s customer list for

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another product.

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Regarding its manufacturing and testing procedures, SPL wishes to seal

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information in: (1) three portions of Exhibit 13 relating to: (a) its exact manufacturing

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processes, (b) its viral inactivation process, and (c) and quantified oxidation times, (Doc.

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186 at 13; Doc. 182-3 at 6–8, 11 (redacted); Doc. 187 at 7–9, 12 (unredacted)); (2)

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Exhibit 14 relating to specific manufacturing differences in two of its heparin API

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products, (Doc. 186 at 4–5; Doc. 182-3 at 50–52 (redacted); Doc. 187 at 51–53

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(unredacted)); (3) Exhibit 18 describing the specific production process for its heparin

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API, (Doc. 186 at 5; Doc. 182-3 at 94 (redacted); Doc. 187 at 73 (unredacted)); (4)

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Exhibit 21 involving a 4-step description of process validation studies and specifics of

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discrete steps in SPL’s manufacturing process, (Doc. 186 at 6; Doc. 182-3 at 142, 195–97

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(redacted); Doc. 187-1 at 58–60 (unredacted)); and (5) Exhibit 86 relating to specific

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information regarding dermatan sulfate testing done on its heparin API, (Doc. 186 at 6;

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Doc. 182-7 at 80–97 (redacted); Doc. 187-1 at 72–89 (unredacted.)) SPL represents that

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it has taken steps to keep this information confidential, that it continues to use

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substantially similar processes in manufacturing its heparin API, and that Plaintiffs do not

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rely on this information in their motions. (Doc. 186 at 4–6.)

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After reviewing these documents, the Court finds, with one exception, that this

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information—which relates to the confidential specifics of SPL’s manufacturing

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processes—constitutes trade secrets, and as such SPL has established a compelling reason

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that outweighs the public’s interest in accessing these comparatively small portions of the

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record. In Exhibit 21, however, Plaintiffs did not redact “the 4-step description of

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process validation studies on SPL 00010196” that SPL seeks to seal. See (Doc. 182-3 at

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142.) Therefore, because that description is already a part of the public record, it will not

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be sealed.

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SPL also seeks to seal a customer list, contained in Exhibit 97, for its heparin API

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that is sourced and manufactured in the United States. (Doc. 186 at 6; Doc. 182-8 at 45

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(redacted); Doc. 187-1 at 125 (unredacted.)) SPL represents that it considers its customer

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list to be propriety, that it has taken steps to maintain the confidentiality of this

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information, and that Plaintiffs do not rely on this information in their motions. (Doc.

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186 at 6.) The Court agrees that such a customer list provides SPL with a competitive

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advantage in the marketplace, and as such constitutes a trade secret outweighing the

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public’s interest in accessing this miniscule part of the record.

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IV.

Conclusion

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Based on the foregoing,

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IT IS ORDERED that Defendant Scientific Protein Laboratories’ (“SPL) Motion

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that Portions of Certain Exhibits Remain Under Seal, (Doc. 186), is GRANTED in part

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and DENIED in part; the Clerk of the Court shall file under seal Doc. 187 and Doc. 187-

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Dated this 22nd day of December, 2017.

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