Klein et al v. Facebook, Inc.

Filing 250

ORDER by Magistrate Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi re 184 , 199 Motions to Seal. (vkdlc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/11/2022)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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MAXIMILIAN KLEIN, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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ORDER RE MOTIONS TO SEAL

v.

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Re: Dkt. Nos. 184, 199
META PLATFORMS, INC.,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

Case No. 20-cv-08570-JD (VKD)

Defendant.

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Plaintiffs move to seal portions of their brief (Dkt. No. 184-4) and Exhibits B-E, L and J to

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the Declaration of Brian Dunne (Dkt. Nos. 184-5 through 184-10) submitted in connection with a

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pending discovery dispute over an August 20, 2021 clawback notice regarding several email

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communications produced in discovery by defendant Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”). Plaintiffs

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request sealing on the ground that Meta has designated most of the subject information (other than

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Exhibit J) as “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential” under the parties’ stipulated protective order

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(Dkt. No. 111). Plaintiffs request sealing for Exhibit J only in “an abundance of caution,” and

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they take no position on whether that information appropriately should be sealed. Dkt. No. 184 at

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Meta responds to plaintiffs’ motion to seal by requesting sealing for only a subset of

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information identified in plaintiffs’ briefs and exhibits. Specifically, Meta requests sealing only as

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to the names, initials, email addresses and telephone numbers of its current and former employees

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identified in those documents. Dkt. No. 195. Meta also separately moves to seal the same

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information contained in its opposition brief (Dkt. No. 199-5), the declaration of Michael Kirkland

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(Dkt. No. 199-7) and Exhibit 1 to the declaration of Molly Jennings (Dkt. No. 199-6) submitted in

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connection with the pending discovery dispute. Dkt. No. 199. Meta agrees that the current and

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former employees’ roles and job titles at the company at the time of the communications may be

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relevant, and Meta does not ask that such information be sealed. Additionally, Meta does not

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request that any portion of Exhibit J to Mr. Dunne’s declaration be sealed. See Dkt. No. 195-1.

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Nor does Meta contend that any other contents of the subject documents be sealed. Id.

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There is a strong presumption in favor of access by the public to judicial records and

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documents accompanying dispositive motions that can be overcome only by a showing of

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“compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings.” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of

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Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178-79 (9th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
However, the presumption does not apply equally to a motion addressing matters that are only

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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“tangentially related to the merits of a case,” Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Group, LLC, 809

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F.3d 1092, 1101 (9th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom FCA U.S. LLC v. Ctr. for Auto Safety, 137 S. Ct.

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38 (2016). A party seeking to seal documents or information in connection with such a motion

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must meet the lower “good cause” standard of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). Id. at 1098-99; Kamakana,

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447 F.3d at 1179-80. “A ‘good cause’ showing will suffice to seal documents produced in

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discovery,” and “Rule 26(c) gives the district court much flexibility in balancing and protecting

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the interests of private parties.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180.

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The Court finds that the “good cause” standard applies to the present motions to seal,

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which pertain to a discovery dispute over Meta’s assertions of the attorney-client privilege over

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the subject email communications. Meta does not deny that the individuals in question have

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“information and involvement in this particular matter.” Dkt. No. 195 at 4; Dkt. No. 199 at 3.

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Nor does Meta contend that its current and former employees’ names reveal confidential

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information. Rather, Meta argues that these individuals’ names and contact information should be

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sealed “given the current media attention to [Meta]” and the possibility that these individuals “may

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receive unsolicited emails and phone calls from the press or members of the general public, which

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could rise to the level of threats or harassment.” Dkt. No. 195 at 4; Dkt. No. 199 at 3. Meta

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further states that any such harassment, if it were to occur, “could result in decreased morale,

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decreased productivity, and increased expenses.” Dkt. No. 195 at 4; Dkt. No. 199 at 3.
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“The mere fact that the production of records may lead to a litigant’s embarrassment,

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incrimination, or exposure to further litigation will not, without more, compel the court to seal its

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records.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. However, courts have sealed personal information “to

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protect an individual’s privacy and prevent exposure to harm, particularly where the information

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relates to nonparties.” In re BofI Holding, Inc. Secs. Litig., No. 15-cv-2324-GPC-KSC, 2021 WL

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3700749 at *8 (S.D. Cal. July 17, 2021) (sealing plaintiffs’ Rule 26(a) initial disclosures in

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putative securities class action containing the names and contact information of witnesses,

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including confidential witnesses who participated in plaintiffs’ pre-filing investigation on

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condition of anonymity). A party may meet its burden to establish that sealing is warranted where
disclosure of the information would violate a legitimate privacy interest leading to risk of harm.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Shopify Inc. v. Express Mobile, Inc., No. 20-mc-80091-JSC, 2020 WL 4732334, at *9 n.12 & *11

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(N.D. Cal. Aug. 14, 2020) (finding good cause to seal personal information in a privilege log,

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including names and email addresses of individuals connected to defendant and its patent agent

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who were “not involved with or incident to the current litigation” and where disclosure of the

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information would violate a “legitimate privacy interest,” but denying a request to seal other

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references to employees’ names and titles that did not otherwise reveal confidential information).

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Meta’s showing is not as strong as the circumstances presented in In re BofI, where there

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was evidence that defendants made misleading and improper contacts with the plaintiffs’

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confidential witnesses. Meta also does not claim that the names of its current and former

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employees reveal confidential information. At the same time, however, the individuals in question

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are not parties to this action, and their names and contact information are not germane to the

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resolution of the parties’ pending discovery dispute. The Court therefore finds that the public’s

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interest in access to that information is outweighed by the risk of possible harassment to the

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individuals in question. Accordingly, Meta’s motion to seal its current and former employees’

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names, initials, and contact information is granted to protect these employees’ privacy interests.

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Plaintiffs’ motion to seal is granted only to the same extent that Meta’s motion to seal has been

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granted; plaintiffs’ motion to seal is otherwise denied. Within 7 days from the date of this order,

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the parties shall file revised redacted versions of their respective briefs and exhibits in compliance
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with the rulings above.
This order does not preclude a subsequent order that the subject information properly

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should be part of the public record as the case progresses. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180 (“A

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‘good cause’ showing will not, without more, satisfy a ‘compelling reasons’ test. . . . Different

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interests are at stake with the right of access than with Rule 26(c); with the former, the private

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interests of the litigants are not the only weights on the scale.”).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: March 11, 2022

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VIRGINIA K. DEMARCHI
United States Magistrate Judge

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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