Mozzone et al v. Salesforce.com, Inc.

Filing 20

Order by Judge James Donato granting 10 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal. (jdlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/29/2022)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ANTHONY MOZZONE, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 21-cv-03532-JD
ORDER RE SEALING REQUEST

v.

Re: Dkt. No. 10
SALESFORCE.COM, INC.,
Defendant.

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The Court has addressed the standards for sealing requests in conjunction with case filings,

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see In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, --- F. Supp. 3d ---, 2021 WL 4190165, (N.D. Cal.

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Aug. 25, 2021), and that decision is incorporated here. In pertinent summary, “judicial records are

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public documents almost by definition, and the public is entitled to access by default.” Id. at *1

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(quoting Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006)); see

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also Center for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Group, LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016) (when

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considering a request to seal, “we start with a strong presumption in favor of access to court

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records.”) (quotation omitted). The party seeking to seal a complaint bears the burden of

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articulating “compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings that outweigh the general

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history of access and the public policies favoring disclosure.” Google Play, 2020 WL 4190165, at

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*1 (quotation and citation omitted). General assertions of potential competitive or commercial

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harm are not enough to establish good cause for sealing court records, and the “fact that the parties

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may have designated a document as confidential under a stipulated protective order is also not

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enough to justify sealing.” Id. (citation omitted).

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Defendant Salesforce has filed an unopposed motion to seal portions of four paragraphs of
the complaint, and several pages of Exhibit A. Dkt. No. 10. The proposed redactions are

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relatively limited, and Salesforce has provided facts indicating that they are related to proprietary

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information about its client relationships, sales, and compensation structure. Consequently, the

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motion to seal is granted. The parties are advised that this is an interlocutory determination, and

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the Court may unseal these materials as warranted later in the case.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: March 29, 2022

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JAMES DONATO
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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