Brown et al v. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.

Filing 204

Order by Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler denying 199 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal.(lblc1S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/1/2014)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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Northern District of California

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San Francisco Division

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For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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ROSMINAH BROWN and ERIC LOHELA,
on behalf of themselves and all others
similarly situated,

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No. C 11-03082 LB
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO FILE
DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL

Plaintiffs,
v.

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[ECF No. 199]

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THE HAIN CELESTIAL GROUP, INC., a
Delaware Corporation,

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Defendant.
____________________________________

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On July 15, 2014, Plaintiffs filed the Declaration of Mark N. Todzo in Support of Plaintiffs’

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Motion for Class Certification (“Todzo Declaration”). See ECF No. 200-5. They also filed an

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administrative motion to file under seal exhibits 6-12 of the Todzo Declaration. See Administrative

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Motion, ECF No. 199. Plaintiffs explain that during discovery, third parties Quality Assurance

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International and Rite Aid Corporation each produced one of these exhibits and Hain Celestial

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produced the rest. Id. Plaintiffs “take no position as to whether the Exhibits are entitled to remain

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sealed” but they filed their administrative motion because these discovery documents were

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designated as “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential” under the protective order. Id. at 2.

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Neither Hain Celestial, Quality Assurance International, nor Rite Aid Corporation filed timely

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declarations establishing that the designated material they produced is sealable, as required by Civil

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Local Rule 79-5(e)(1). Nonetheless, on July 21, 2014, the court sua sponte gave them until July 23,

C 11-03082 LB (ORDER)

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2014 to file their declarations. See Order, ECF No. 201.
On July 23, non-parties QAI, Inc. and NSF International filed the Declaration of Jaclyn Bowen
in support of Plaintiffs’ motion to seal. See Bowen Decl., ECF No. 202. On July 24, they filed a

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Revised Declaration that corrected typographical errors. See Revised Bowen Decl., ECF No. 203.

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In her declaration, Ms. Bowen states that she is the General Manager of QAI, and Director of

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Agriculture-North America at NSF. Id. at 4. She states “[t]he documents attached to Plaintiffs’

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Administrative Motion to File Under Seal Exhibits 6-12 of the Todzo Declaration . . . contain QAI’s

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and NSF’s confidential documents, and cannot be disclosed by virtue of a Protective Order entered

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into between the parties.” Id. Ms. Bowen provides no basis for sealing these documents other than

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the fact that they were designated as “Highly Confidential” or “Confidential” under the Protective

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Order in this action. See id. at 4-5.

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For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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The Bowen Declaration does not provide a sufficient basis for the court to grant the sealing

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motion. In order to justify sealing, NSF and QAI needed to file “a declaration as required by

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subsection 79-5(d)(1)(A) establishing that all of the designated material is sealable.” Civil L.R. 79-

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5(e)(1) (cited in the Order granting additional time to file the declarations, ECF No. 201). As that

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subsection explains, “[r]eference to a stipulation or protective order that allows a party to designate

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certain documents as confidential is not sufficient to establish that a document, or portions thereof,

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are sealable.” Civil L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(A). Accordingly, the court denies Plaintiffs’ Administrative

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Motion to File Under Seal. Within seven days of this order, Plaintiffs should file a complete and

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unredacted copy of their class certification motion and all of its exhibits. In subsequent briefing, the

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parties should cite to the complete, unredacted motion papers.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: August 1, 2014

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_______________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge

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C 11-03082 LB (ORDER)

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