Parrish et al v. National Football League Players Incorporated

Filing 250

MOTION to Seal Document Miscellaneous Administrative Request to File Certain Confidential Materials Under Seal filed by Bernard Paul Parrish, Walter Roberts, III, Herbert Anthony Adderley. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order Sealing Confidential Documents)(Hilbert, Ryan) (Filed on 4/4/2008)

Parrish et al v. National Football League Players Incorporated

Doc. 250

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MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP
A T T O R N E Y S A T LAW PALO A L T O

MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP RONALD S. KATZ (Bar No. CA 085713) E-mail: [e-mail] RYAN S. HILBERT (California Bar No. 210549) E-mail: [e-mail] NOEL S. COHEN (California Bar No. 219645) E-mail: [e-mail] 1001 Page Mill Road, Building 2 Palo Alto, CA 94304-1006 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] McKOOL SMITH, P.C. LEWIS T. LECLAIR (Bar No. CA 077136) E-mail: [e-mail] JILL ADLER (Bar No. CA 150783) E-mail: [e-mail] 300 Crescent Court, Suite 1500 Dallas, TX 75201 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Attorneys for Plaintiffs UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION CIVIL ACTION NO. C07 0943 WHA

BERNARD PAUL PARRISH, HERBERT ANTHONY ADDERLEY, and WALTER ROBERTS, III on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs vs. NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION, a Virginia corporation, and NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS INCORPORATED d/b/a PLAYERS INC, a Virginia corporation,

MISCELLANEOUS ADMINISTRATIVE REQUEST TO FILE CERTAIN CONFIDENTIAL MATERIALS UNDER SEAL

Defendants.

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MISC. REQUEST TO FILE REPLY UNDER SEAL CASE NO. C:07-0943 WHA

Dockets.Justia.com

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MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP
A T T O R N E Y S A T LAW PALO A L T O

Pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Civil Local Rules 79-5(d) and 7-11, and the Court's inherent authority over its own files and records, Plaintiffs file these documents in connection with Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Their Motion for Class Certification ("Reply Brief"). Specifically, Plaintiffs request that the Court seal the following documents: (1) (2) An unredacted version of Plaintiffs' Reply Brief; and Exhibits 7, 10, 12 and 14 to the Declaration of Ronald Katz in Further

Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification ("Katz Decl."). The good cause for this request is set forth below. I. ARGUMENT Whether or not a protective order is entered in any case is subject to the discretion of the court. See Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 36, 104 S. Ct. 2199, 81 L. Ed. 2d 17 (1984) (holding that Rule 26(c) confers "broad discretion on the trial court to decide when a protective order is appropriate and what degree of protection is required"). A. Unredacted Version of Plaintiffs' Reply Brief

As explained in more detail below, Plaintiffs' Reply Brief contains information designated as "Highly Confidential ­ Attorneys Eyes Only" or "Confidential" by the parties. Accordingly, Plaintiffs' respectfully request that the unredacted version of the Reply Brief be filed under seal and that redacted version of the Reply Brief serve as the publicly available version of that document. B. Documents Designated by Defendants as "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential ­ Attorneys Eyes Only" (Exhibits 12 and 14) Exhibit 14 is a March 31, 2008 letter and errata sheet from Defendants' counsel relating to the deposition of Gene Upshaw. Because some of the changes included on the errata sheet quote and significantly alter testimony designated as "Highly Confidential ­ Attorneys Eyes Only" or "Confidential" by Defendants, Plaintiffs seek to file this document under seal also pursuant to designation by Defendants and the parties' Protective Order in this matter. In addition, Exhibit 12 is Defendants' Supplemental Responses and Objections to Plaintiffs' Amended Interrogatories. Even though Plaintiffs do not recall Defendants expressly
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MISC. REQUEST TO FILE REPLY UNDER SEAL CASE NO. C:07-0943 WHA

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MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP
A T T O R N E Y S A T LAW PALO A L T O

designating this document "Highly Confidential ­ Attorneys Eyes Only" or "Confidential", given the nature of the information included therein, in an abundance of caution, Plaintiffs respectfully request that this document be filed under seal. Plaintiffs anticipate that Defendants will inform the Court whether either or both of these document should remain filed under seal. B. Deposition Testimony on Non-Public Bank Statements of the Retired Professional Football Players for Justice (Exhibit 7) Exhibit 7 to the Katz Declaration consists of excerpts from the March 5, 2008 deposition of Margaret Parrish, the designated 30(b)(6) witness of third-party Retired Football Players for Justice ("RPFPJ"). These excerpts are among those limited portions of the deposition transcript RPFPJ designated "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential ­ Attorneys' Eyes Only" because they discuss at length and in detail the nature of most, if not all, of the transactions identified in thirdparty RPFPJ's confidential bank statements. (Though not an exhibit to the Katz Declaration, the non-public bank statements of RPFPJ show all of the deposits, withdrawals and debits transacted by RPFPJ from its inception through February 2008.) Good cause exists for the sealing of this document. See Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1131 n. 4(9th Cir. 2003) (finding documents "contain[ing] trade secrets, financial information, and confidential information about third parties" satisfy the "good cause" standard of Rule 26(c)). Public disclosure of these materials would reveal third-party RPFPJ's sensitive financial information and history to competing organizations. It would also reveal RPFPJ's sensitive financial information to those organizations ­ like Defendants ­ against whom RPFPJ often finds itself when fighting for retired NFL player rights. Plaintiffs respectfully request that Exhibits 29 and 35 be filed under seal. It is worth noting that in Defendants' recent Opposition to Plaintiffs' April 2, 2008 Miscellaneous Administrative Request to file documents under seal, Defendants did not object to the filing under seal of excerpts identical to those in Exhibit 7 of the Katz Declaration. C. Private E-Mail Communications Involving Third Parties

Exhibit 10 to the Katz Declaration is a series of e-mail communications sent to and from
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MISC. REQUEST TO FILE REPLY UNDER SEAL CASE NO. C:07-0943 WHA

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MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP
A T T O R N E Y S A T LAW PALO A L T O

various third party individuals, none of whom are parties and all of whom have no direct involvement in this case. Each of these e-mails is personal in nature. The retired NFL players who received and sent these e-mails had a reasonable expectation of privacy in them and could not have expected them to become public. Public disclosure of these e-mails could violate these individuals' right to privacy. These e-mails also include the e-mail addresses of many wellknown retired players, the disclosure of which could result in the sending of unwanted and harassing e-mail messages from members of the public. III. CONCLUSION For the reasons given above, Plaintiffs respectfully request that an unredacted version of their Reply Brief and Exhibits 7, 10, 12 and 14 the Katz Declaration be filed under seal.

Dated:

April 4, 2008

MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP By: /s/ Ryan S. Hilbert Ronald S. Katz (SBN 085713) Ryan S. Hilbert (SBN 210549) Noel S. Cohen (SBN 219645) MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP 1001 Page Mill Road, Building 2 Palo Alto, CA 94304-1006 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Attorneys for Plaintiffs Lewis T. LeClair, Esq. Jill Adler, Esq. McKOOL SMITH, P.C. 300 Crescent Court Suite 1500 Dallas, TX 75201 214-978-4984 214-978-4044 (fax)

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MISC. REQUEST TO FILE REPLY UNDER SEAL CASE NO. C:07-0943 WHA