Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. v. Toyama Partners, LLC et al

Filing 297

ORDER denying without prejudice 287 Stipulation, filed by Capella-Mowry, LLC, Susanna Pau, Peter Pau d/b/a Sand Hill Property Company, Sand Hill Property Management Company, Toyama Partners, LLC, Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., Peter Pau. Signed by Judge Nandor J. Vadas on 09/09/2011. (njvlc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/9/2011)

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NOT FOR CITATION

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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EUREKA DIVISION

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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No. CV 10-0325 SI (NJV)

DOLLAR TREE STORES, INC.,

ORDER DENYING WITHOUT
PREJUDICE PLAINTIFF’S
STIPULATED MOTION TO SEAL

Plaintiff,
v.

(Docket No. 287)

TOYAMA PARTNERS LLC, et al.,
Defendants.

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The district court has referred the parties’ discovery motions and all future discovery matters

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to this Court for determination. Doc. No. 202, 248. Plaintiff Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (“Plaintiff”)

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has filed a letter brief requesting an order compelling defendant Toyama Partners and other

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defendants (“Defendants”) to produce documents pursuant to the crime-fraud exception to the

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attorney-client privilege. Doc. No. 285. In support of its letter brief, Dollar Tree submitted the

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Declaration of Jay D. Marinstein (Doc. No. 286), which attaches a document Defendants designated

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as confidential pursuant to the terms of the district court’s Order on Confidentiality (Doc. No. 275).

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The parties accordingly stipulated to filing under seal the portion of the Marinstein Declaration that

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refers to the document and the document itself, and ask this Court to grant their stipulated motion to

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seal.

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Having carefully considered the papers submitted, the Court DENIES WITHOUT
PREJUDICE Plaintiff’s stipulated motion to seal.

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DISCUSSION
A motion to seal documents that are not part of the judicial record, such as “private materials

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unearthed during discovery,” is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), which

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“provid[es] that a trial court may grant a protective order ‘to protect a party or person from

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annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense.’” Pintos v. Pacific Creditors

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Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 678 (9th Cir. 2010) (quoting Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447

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F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006)). As the Ninth Circuit explained, “[t]he relevant standard for

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purposes of Rule 26(c) is whether ‘good cause exists to protect th[e] information from being

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disclosed to the public by balancing the needs for discovery against the need for confidentiality.’”

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Id. (quoting Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1213 (9th Cir.

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2002)). The good cause standard also applies to sealed documents attached to nondispositive

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motions. Id. at 678-79 (explaining that documents attached to a summary judgment motion are not

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governed by the good cause standard because summary judgment motions are dispositive). Here,

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Plaintiff seeks to seal a document that is not part of the public record in connection with a non-

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dispositive discovery motion. Thus, the good cause standard applies. While the decision to grant or

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deny a motion to seal is within the trial court’s discretion, the trial court must articulate its reasoning

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in deciding a motion to seal. Id. at 679.

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Pursuant to the Order of Confidentiality in this case (Doc. No. 275), Plaintiff has filed a

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stipulated motion to seal portions of the Marinstein Declaration, which it filed in support of its letter

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brief requesting an order to compel the production of certain documents. See Doc. Nos. 285 & 286.

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Judge Illston specified that documents marked confidential could be filed under seal only pursuant

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to Civil Local Rule 79-5. See Doc. No. 275 at 15. This Rule provides that:

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A sealing order may issue only upon a request that establishes that
the document, or portions thereof, is privileged or protectable as a
trade secret or otherwise entitled to protection under the law,
[hereinafter referred to as “sealable.”] The request must be narrowly
tailored to seek sealing only of sealable material, and must conform
with Civil L.R. 79-5(b) or (c). A stipulation, or a blanket
protective order that allows a party to designate documents as
sealable, will not suffice to allow the filing of documents under
seal.

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Civil Local Rule 79-5 (emphasis added). Plaintiff seeks to seal a document that has been designated

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as confidential by Defendants, but neither Plaintiff nor Defendants has demonstrated why the

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document is privileged or protectable. See Doc. No. 287. This is insufficient. Moreover, the Court

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has reviewed the document and from the document itself cannot discern an obvious basis for finding

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the document is privileged or protectable. At this point, the Court finds that sealing is not

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warranted. The parties may submit a supplemental declaration that, in compliance with Local Rule

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79-5, demonstrates that sealing is warranted.

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In conclusion, the Court denies without prejudice Plaintiff’s stipulated motion to seal
portions of the Marinstein Declaration.

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Dated: September 9, 2011
NANDOR J. VADAS
United States Magistrate Judge

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