Sustainable Pavement Technologies, LLC v. Holiday et al

Filing 55

ORDER signed by Senior Judge William B. Shubb on 11/9/2018 DENYING without prejudice 52 Request to Seal Exhibits A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H to its 51 Motion for Summary Judgment. The court may consider a request to seal exhibits containing only those pages specifically referenced in the Motion for Summary Judgment, or a request to redact specified portions of the documents identifying of non-litigants. (York, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SUSTAINABLE PAVEMENT
TECHNOLOGIES, LLC,

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No.

2:17-cv-02687-WBS-KJN

Plaintiff,
ORDER RE: REQUEST TO SEAL
DOCUMENTS

v.
RICH HOLIDAY; RYAN (TIM) BONARI;
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.; and
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

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Defendants.

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Defendant JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“Chase”) asks

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this court to seal Exhibits A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H to their

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Memorandum in Support of Summary Judgment.

(Docket No. 51.)

A party seeking to seal a judicial record bears the

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burden of overcoming a strong presumption in favor of public

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access.

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(9th Cir. 2006).

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supported by specific factual findings that outweigh the general

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history of access and the public policies favoring disclosure,

Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172
The party must “articulate compelling reasons

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such as the public interest in understanding the judicial

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process.”

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motion to seal, the court must balance the competing interests of

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the public and the party seeking to keep the records secret.

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at 1179.

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Id. at 1178-79 (citation omitted).

In ruling on a

Id.

Exhibits A, B, C, D, and E to defendant’s Motion for

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Summary Judgment are business records associated with two Chase

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bank accounts in the name of defendant Rich Holiday.1

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is a copy of Chase’s check acceptance policy in force between

Exhibit F

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November 20, 2014 and September 7, 2017.

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excerpts from the deposition of Jeffrey Wanic, and Exhibit H is a

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document titled “Holiday Diverted Check Summary” produced by

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plaintiff Sustainable Pavement Technologies, LLC.

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Exhibit G contains

Though it asks this court to seal thousands of pages of

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documents, Chase devotes just two pages to rebutting the

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presumption in favor of public access to judicial records.

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supports its request primarily with general assertions about the

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potential harm that the release of these documents could present

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Chase or its clients.

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not constitute “good cause” to rebut the presumption in favor of

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public access.

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It

These vague and nonspecific concerns do

See Kamakana, 447 F.3d 1172.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that defendant Chase’s request

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to seal Exhibits A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H to its Motion for

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Summary Judgment be, and the same hereby is, DENIED without

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prejudice.

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The court may consider a request to seal exhibits

One of the bank accounts is in the name of Richard W
Holiday dba Sustainable Product Testing and the other appears to
be a joint account in the names of Richard W. Holiday and a nonlitigant.
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containing only those pages specifically referenced in the Motion

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for Summary Judgment, or a request to redact specified portions

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of the documents identifying of non-litigants.

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Dated:

November 9, 2018

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