Hamilton v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Filing 90

ORDER REGARDING DEFENDANT'S ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION UNDER SEAL, Docket No. 86. Signed by Judge Claudia Wilken on 3/22/2012. (cwlc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/22/2012)

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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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MARIKA HAMILTON, MICHAEL HICKMAN,
JEFFREY and ELLEN YELLIN, and
BRENDAN O'LEARY, individually and
on behalf of a class of similarly
situated individuals,

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Plaintiffs,
v.
WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., for
itself and as a successor in
interest to GOLDEN WEST BANK,
WACHOVIA BANK, and WELLS FARGO
FINANCIAL / NOWLINE BANK,

No. C 09-4152 CW
ORDER REGARDING
DEFENDANT'S
ADMINISTRATIVE
MOTION TO MAINTAIN
CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION UNDER
SEAL, Docket No.
86, and THE
PARTIES'
STIPULATION,
Docket No. 87

Defendant.
________________________________/
On March 8, 2012, Plaintiffs moved, pursuant to this Court's
Civil Local Rule 79-5(c) and (b), to seal portions of their
concurrently filed motion for attorneys' fees, expenses and
incentive award and the entirety of Exhibit C submitted in support
of that motion.

Docket No. 83.

Plaintiffs contended that the

items are sealable because they contain information that has been
designated as confidential by Defendant Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., or
otherwise contain private or protected information under the
September 1, 2010 Stipulated Protective Order.

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Defendant Wells Fargo Bank failed to respond in support of

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Plaintiffs' motion as required under Local Rule 79-5(d).

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Furthermore, the proposed redactions in the motion for attorneys'

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fees and the information in Exhibit C, Plaintiffs' expert's

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report, did not appear to convey confidential business

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information, proprietary technology or trade secrets.

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March 19, 2012, the Court denied the motion to seal.

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Thus, on

On March 21, 2012, Wells Fargo moved to maintain certain
information under seal, noting that it failed to respond to

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Plaintiffs' prior motion due to oversight.

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to seal is more narrow that Plaintiffs' prior request; it seeks to

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conceal only direct references to its confidential data, but not

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Plaintiffs' expert's assessment of the value of the proposed

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settlement agreement.

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submitted a stipulation by the parties, agreeing that Plaintiffs'

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counsel shall file a version of its petition for attorneys' fees

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and supporting papers with redactions in keeping with Wells

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Fargo's current request to seal.

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Wells Fargo's request

In support of its motion, Wells Fargo has

However, neither party has submitted a copy of the petition

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and supporting papers with the proposed redactions.

Thus, the

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Court is unable to evaluate whether the redactions comport with

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the standard for placing the information under seal.

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may not place information under seal by stipulated agreement or a

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blanket protective order.

The parties

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Given the impending hearing set for April 26, 2012, the

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parties shall follow, on an expedited basis, the procedures under

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this Court's Local Rule 79-5(c) and (d) to establish that sealing

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is warranted.

Plaintiffs shall submit the items required under
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Local Rule 79-5(c)(2)-(5) within one day, pursuant to the

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procedures therein.

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Local Rule 79-5(d) within one day thereafter.

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Wells Fargo shall respond in keeping with

The Court will defer ruling on Wells Fargo's request until

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these items are received.

Pending the Court's determination of

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Wells Fargo's administrative motion, Plaintiffs' counsel need not

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file an unredacted version of the petition for attorneys' fees on

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the class website.
However, in keeping with In re Mercury Interactive Corp.

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Securities Litigation, 608 F.3d 988 (9th Cir. 2010), in the event

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that Plaintiffs' counsel are required to post a version of the

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attorneys' fee petition disclosing information that was previously

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redacted from the petition currently posted on the class action

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website, the April 5, 2012 deadline for class member objections

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may be vacated and the deadline extended to fourteen days

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following the date the modified petition is posted on the website.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

CLAUDIA WILKEN
United States District Judge

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