Rahman v. Mott's LLP et al

Filing 73

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO SEAL (Illston, Susan) (Filed on 8/21/2014)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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MOHAMMED RAHMAN, individually, and on
behalf of other members of the general public
similarly situated,

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No. C 13-03482 SI
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION TO SEAL

Plaintiff,
v.

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MOTT’S L.L.P., and DOES 1 through 10,

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Defendants.

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On August 1, 2014, plaintiff filed a motion for class certification and for the appointment of class

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counsel. Docket No. 66. Along with his motion, plaintiff also filed a motion to seal portions of the

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motion for class certification and portions of Exhibit A and all of Exhibit D to the declaration of Robert

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K. Friedl filed in support of the motion. Docket No. 65. On August 7, 2014, the Court denied plaintiff’s

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motion to seal without prejudice to defendant filing the declaration required by Civil Local Rule

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79-5(d)(1)(A) within seven days. Docket No. 67. On August 12, 2014, defendant filed the declaration

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of Van H. Beckwith in support of sealing the requested documents. Docket No. 69, Beckwith Decl.

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With the exception of a narrow range of documents that are “traditionally kept secret,” courts

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begin their sealing analysis with “a strong presumption in favor of access.” Foltz v. State Farm Mut.

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Auto. Ins., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003). When applying to file documents under seal in

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connection with a dispositive motion, the submitting party bears the burden of “articulating compelling
reasons supported by specific factual findings that outweigh the general history of access and the public

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policies favoring disclosure, such as the public interest in understanding the judicial process.”

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Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178-79 (9th Cir. 2006) (internal quotations

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and citations omitted). However, when a party seeks to seal documents attached to a non-dispositive

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motion, a showing of “good cause” under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) is sufficient. Id. at

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1179-80; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). In addition, all requests to file under seal must be “narrowly

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tailored,” such that only sealable information is sought to be redacted from public access. N.D. Cal.

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Civil Local Rule 79-5(b).
“The Ninth Circuit has not ruled as to whether a motion for class certification is a dispositive

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motion for the purposes of determining whether the ‘compelling reasons’ standard applies.” Labrador

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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v. Seattle Mortgage Co., No. 08-2270 SC, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95763, at *5 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 1,

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2010). “Although courts in the Northern District ‘have generally considered motions for class

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certification nondispositive,’ some have recognized that ‘there may be circumstances in which a motion

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for class certification is case dispositive.’” Ramirez v. Trans Union, LLC, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS

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67206, at *5 (N.D. Cal. May 15, 2014) (citations omitted). For example, “a motion for class

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certification might be dispositive if ‘a denial of class status means that the stakes are too low for the

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named plaintiffs to continue the matter.’” In re High-Tech Emp. Antitrust Litig., 11-CV-02509-LHK,

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2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6606, at *8 n.1 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 15, 2013) (quoting Prado v. Bush, 221 F.3d 1266,

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1274 (11th Cir. 2000)).

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The Court has reviewed the Beckwith declaration and concludes that plaintiff’s motion to seal

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should be denied for two reasons. First, as noted above and in the Court’s prior order, there may be

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circumstances where a motion for class certification is case dispositive, and, therefore, the “compelling

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reasons” rather than the “good cause” standard applies. Here there is no discussion in the declaration

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of whether the “compelling reasons” standard or the “good cause” standard should apply to the motion

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to seal, even though a review of the allegations in the complaint shows that this may very well be a case

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where a denial of class status means that the stakes are too low for the named plaintiff to continue the

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matter. See generally Docket No. 48, Second Amended Compl.

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Second, even if the lower “good cause” standard applies to the motion to seal, the statements in

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the Beckwith declaration are insufficient to satisfy that standard. In the Beckwith declaration, defendant
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states that the documents at issue contain confidential and proprietary information and the documents

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have been designated as confidential pursuant to the protective order in this case. Docket No. 69,

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Beckwith Decl. ¶¶ 4-5. However, good cause “cannot be established simply by showing that the

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document is subject to a protective order or by stating in general terms that the material is considered

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to be confidential, but rather must be supported by a sworn declaration demonstrating with particularity

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the need to file each document under seal.” Bain v. AstraZeneca LP, No. C 09-4147 CW, 2011 U.S.

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Dist. LEXIS 15965, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 7, 2011). To make the lower showing of good cause, the

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requesting party must make a “particularized showing” that “‘specific prejudice or harm’” will result

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if the information is disclosed. Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180, 1186; accord Phillips ex rel. Estates of

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002). Here, defendant has failed to make

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the required particularized showing. Accordingly, the Court DENIES plaintiff’s motion to seal.

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Therefore, plaintiff must publicly file the documents at issue on CM/ECF within seven days from the

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date this order is filed as required by Civil Local Rule 79-5(f)(2). This order resolves Docket No. 65.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: August 21, 2014
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SUSAN ILLSTON
United States District Judge

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