Mubiru v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Filing 38

ORDER REGARDING WELLS FARGO BANK'S REQUEST TO SEAL AND EXTENDING DISPOSITVE MOTION FILING DEADLINE signed by District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff on 1/08/2025. (Deputy Clerk VMG)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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FRANK K MUBIRU,

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Plaintiff,
v.

No. 1:23-CV-01597-KES-SAB
ORDER REGARDING WELLS FARGO
BANK’S REQUEST TO SEAL AND
EXTENDING DISPOSITVE MOTION
FILING DEADLINE

WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.,
(Doc. 35)
Defendant.

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Plaintiff Frank K. Mubiru has filed this action asserting claims of negligence against

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Defendant Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo”). Doc. 1. Wells Fargo requests to seal

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various documents on the grounds that the documents contain confidential information about

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plaintiff’s medical history, conditions, and treatment. Doc. 35; see Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of

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Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1182 (9th Cir. 2006) (finding that sensitive personal information met

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the compelling reasons standard for sealing). The dispositive motion filing deadline is currently

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January 10, 2025. Doc. 30. The Court has reviewed Wells Fargo’s notice of request to seal

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documents filed January 7, 2025 (Doc. 35), and the documents listed therein, which Wells Fargo

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provided to the Court but does not appear to have served on plaintiff.

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The Court notes that Wells Fargo’s certificate of service filed on January 8, 2025

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(Doc. 37) indicates that it served plaintiff with the notice of request to seal documents and its
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proposed order only on January 8, 2025. Wells Fargo’s certificate of service reflects that it

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served plaintiff with the notice and proposed order, but not with the documents it requests to be

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sealed, which is also required by Local Rule 141(b).
Given that Wells Fargo’s reason for making the request to seal is to protect the plaintiff’s

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sensitive personal information, the Court will sua sponte extend the dispositive motion filing

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deadline to permit time for Wells Fargo to serve plaintiff with the documents and for plaintiff to

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file any objections to the sealing request. The Court finds that there is no prejudice to either party

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from a brief extension of this deadline, including because no trial date has been set in this case.

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Additionally, the Court notes that Wells Fargo seeks to file under seal the entirety of

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certain documents, including its entire brief in support of its motion for summary judgment and

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its statement of undisputed facts. However, a review of the submitted documents reveals that

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many of the documents reference such sensitive personal information only in specific locations.

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Therefore, in addition to its proposed filing of the full documents under seal, Wells Fargo shall

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prepare redacted versions of the documents to be filed on the public docket, with redactions only

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as to those portions of the filings that contain sensitive personal information. Wells Fargo shall

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serve on plaintiff a copy of both the unredacted documents to be filed under seal and the redacted

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versions of the documents to be filed on the public docket. Wells Fargo shall also provide such

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documents to the Court.

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Accordingly, the Court ORDERS:

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1. Wells Fargo shall serve on plaintiff by overnight mail, sent by January 13, 2025, copies of

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both the unredacted documents to be filed under seal and the redacted versions of the

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documents to be filed on the public docket. Wells Fargo shall also provide a copy of such

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documents to the Court by email to [e-mail].

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2. Plaintiff shall serve Wells Fargo and the Court by January 21, 2025 with any objections to

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Wells Fargo’s sealing request or to the proposed redactions on the versions of the

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documents to be publicly filed.

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3. The dispositive motion filing deadline in this case is extended to three (3) days after the
Court’s ruling on Wells Fargo’s sealing request.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

January 8, 2025
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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