Bowen v. Costco Wholesale Corporation et al

Filing 40

ORDER - IT IS ORDERED the Motion to Seal (Doc. 37 ) is DENIED. If Costco wants the court to consider these exhibits, it must file them on the public docket within five days of this order. This order shall not be sealed. See attached Order for complete details. Signed by Judge Krissa M Lanham on 3/12/2025. (NSH)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Kathryn E Bowen,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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Costco Wholesale Corporation, et al.,

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Defendants.

No. CV-24-00271-PHX-KML
ORDER

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Defendant Costco Wholesale Corporation seeks to file under seal two exhibits to its

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motion for summary judgment. (Doc. 37.) The exhibits include information on “Costco’s

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required safety inspections” and the “safety inspections performed on the date of the

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subject incident.” (Doc. 37 at 2.) Defense counsel submitted an almost identical request in

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a separate case that was pending before Judge Rayes. (CV-22-947-PHX-DLR, Doc. 48.)

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Judges Rayes explained the governing standard and denied the request. Sheikh v. Costco

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Wholesale Corp., No. CV-22-00947-PHX-DLR, 2024 WL 455243, at *2 (D. Ariz. Feb. 6,

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2024). After the denial, Costco filed the documents on the public docket. (CV-22-947-

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PHX-DLR, Doc. 59, 60.) One of the documents in that case is the same as a document

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Costco seeks to seal in this case.

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Costco’s motion in this case does not explain why it would appropriate to seal a

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document that is already in the public record. Nor does the motion explain how Costco

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would be harmed by the disclosure of the documents. Costco has not established there are

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“compelling reasons” supporting the sealing of these documents. Ctr. for Auto Safety v.

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Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016).

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Accordingly,

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IT IS ORDERED the Motion to Seal (Doc. 37) is DENIED. If Costco wants the

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court to consider these exhibits, it must file them on the public docket within five days of

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this order. This order shall not be sealed.

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Dated this 12th day of March, 2025.

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