Simpson et al v. Smith & Nephew Incorporated et al

Filing 68

ORDER denying 57 Motion to Seal. FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall unseal Plaintiff Robert Simpson's Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement (part of Lodged Doc. 58 ) and his Notice of Filing Additional Support of Plaintiff's Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement & Stay Discovery Obligations (Lodged Doc. 64 ) and shall file those documents in the public docket. Signed by Senior Judge Paul G Rosenblatt on 6/8/15.(MAP)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Robert Simpson and Mary Simpson,
Plaintiffs,

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vs.

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Smith & Nephew, Inc., et al.,
Defendants.

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No. CV-13-08231-PCT-PGR
ORDER

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Pending before the Court is plaintiff Robert Simpson’s Motion to File Under

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Seal Plaintiff’s Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement (Doc. 57), wherein the

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plaintiff asserted, without any supporting argument, that the underlying motion had

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to be submitted under seal pursuant to Toon v. Wackenhut Corrections Corp., 250

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F.3d 950 (5th Cir.2001), because confidentiality was a material term of the settlement

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agreement the plaintiff was seeking to enforce. The Court ordered defendant Smith

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& Nephew, Inc. to file a response to the motion to seal no later than April 17, 2015,

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wherein it was to set forth why the Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement should

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remain sealed. No such response was filed. Instead, the plaintiffs Simpson filed a

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Notice of Settlement on April 16, 2015, and Plaintiff’s Request to Dismiss on May 12,

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2015.

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The Court finds that the motion to seal should be denied because no party has

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established that sealing the Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement is proper under

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the governing standard of Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172,

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1180 (9th Cir.2006) (The court, noting the strong presumption in favor of access to

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judicial records, stated that “judicial records are public documents almost by

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definition, and the public is entitled to access by default.”) Therefore,

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IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff Robert Simpson’s Motion to File Under Seal
Plaintiff’s Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement ( Doc. 57) is denied.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall unseal plaintiff

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Robert Simpson’s Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement (part of Lodged Doc. 58)

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and his Notice of Filing Additional Support of Plaintiff’s Motion to Enforce Settlement

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Agreement & Stay Discovery Obligations (Lodged Doc. 64) and shall file those

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documents in the public docket.

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DATED this 8th day of June, 2015.

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