Strojnik v. Driftwood Hospitality Management LLC et al

Filing 89

ORDER denying 85 Motion to File Fee Agreements Under Seal. FURTHER ORDERED that Xenia shall file its fee agreements, as directed by the Court's prior Order (Doc. 83 ) on the public record within three (3) days of this Order's entry. Signed by Judge Diane J Humetewa on 11/19/21. (MAP)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Peter Strojnik,
Plaintiff,

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ORDER

v.

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No. CV-20-01532-PHX-DJH

Driftwood Hospitality Management LLC, et
al.,

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Defendants.

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Pending before the Court in this consolidated action is Defendants Xenia Hotels and

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Resorts, Inc.; XHR Phoenix Palms, LLC; and XHR Scottsdale Ranch, LLC’s (collectively

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“Xenia”) Motion to File Fee Agreements Under Seal (Doc. 85). Plaintiff has not filed a

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response, but one is not necessary. The Motion is denied.

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The public has a general right to court documents, but this right is not absolute.

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Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006). A party

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seeking to seal a document must give compelling reasons supported by specific factual

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findings. Id. Generally, compelling reasons exist when documents might become “a

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vehicle for improper purposes . . . .” Id. at 1179 (quoting Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc.,

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435 U.S. 589, 598 (1978)).

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Xenia seeks to seal its fee agreement with counsel because it “contains confidential

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information relating to the nature of the case, the nature of the representation and the scope

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and terms of counsel’s engagement.” (Doc. 85 at 3). Xenia argues that this information is

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meant to be communicated between an attorney and client and that there “is little if any

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benefit that the public would glean” from seeing the agreement. (Id.)

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The Court finds, Xenia has not demonstrated how the fee agreements could be used

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for an improper purpose. Furthermore, the public’s right to court documents is not

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overcome just because a party thinks the public would have little to glean from the

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documents in question. Therefore, Xenia has not provided compelling reasons or specific

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facts warranting a seal of its fee agreements.

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Accordingly,

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Xenia’s Motion to File Fee Agreements Under

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Seal (Doc. 85) is denied.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Xenia shall file its fee agreements, as directed

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by the Court’s prior Order (Doc. 83) on the public record within three (3) days of this

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Order’s entry.

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Dated this 19th day of November, 2021.

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Honorable Diane J. Humetewa
United States District Judge

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