Burton v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC

Filing 77

ORDER GRANTING 75 Joint Request to Seal Documents, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 9/4/2014. (Hall, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DENNIS BURTON, on behalf of himself and )
all others similar situated,
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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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NATIONWIDE MORTGAGE LLC., et al.,
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Defendants.

Case No.: 1:13-cv-00307 LJO JLT
ORDER GRANTING JOINT REQUEST TO SEAL
DOCUMENTS
(Doc. 75)

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Before Court is the amended request, lodged by Defendants to seal portions of the Exhibit A

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which with is attached to the declaration of Erik Kemp. Plaintiff joins in this request. For the reasons

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set forth below, the request is GRANTED.

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I.

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Legal Authority
The request to seal documents is controlled by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). The

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Rule permits the Court to issue orders to “protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment,

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oppression, or undue burden or expense, including . . . requiring that a trade secret or other

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confidential research, development, or commercial information not be revealed or be revealed only in

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a specified way.” Only if good cause exists may the Court seal the information from public view after

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balancing “the needs for discovery against the need for confidentiality.’” Pintos v. Pac. Creditors

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Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 678 (9th Cir. Cal. 2010) (quoting Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors

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Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1213 (9th Cir. 2002)).
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Generally, documents filed in civil cases are presumed to be available to the public. EEOC v.

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Erection Co., 900 F.2d 168, 170 (9th Cir. 1990); see also Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu,

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447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir.2006); Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1134 (9th

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Cir.2003). Documents may be sealed only when the compelling reasons for doing so outweigh the

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public’s right of access. EEOC at 170. In evaluating the request, the Court considers the “public

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interest in understanding the judicial process and whether disclosure of the material could result in

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improper use of the material for scandalous or libelous purposes or infringement upon trade secrets.”

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Valley Broadcasting Co. v. United States District Court, 798 F.2d 1289, 1294 (9th Cir. 1986).
Here, the parties seek sealing of documents related to Plaintiff’s tax returns, including his

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social security number and that of his wife and other personal identifiers, such as dates of birth.

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Public disclosure of this information could subject the parties to fraud and would unnecessarily reveal

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private information. Premium Serv. Corp. v. Sperry & Hutchinson Co., 511 F.2d 225, 229 (9th Cir.

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1975) (“[A] public policy against unnecessary public disclosure arises from the need, if the tax laws

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are to function properly, to encourage taxpayers to file complete and accurate returns.”); Gabel v.

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C.I.R., 134 F.3d 377 (9th Cir. 1998) (Social security numbers are part of tax return information and

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are confidential.) Thus, the Court finds a compelling need for this information to remain private.
Likewise, the parties seek to file under seal Plaintiff’s credit report. This report contains

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information that, as with the tax returns, could subject the parties to fraudulent use of this “highly

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personal” information and there is no public interest in disclosure of this information. The Court finds

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this information is of the type that “traditionally been kept secret for important policy reasons.”

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Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178 quoting Times Mirror Co. v. United States, 873 F.2d 1210, 1219 (9th Cir.

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1989). Therefore, the Court finds a compelling need for this information not to be disclosed to the

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public.

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ORDER

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Based upon the foregoing, the Court ORDERS:

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Defendants’ request to seal (Doc. 75) is GRANTED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

September 4, 2014

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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