Rainbow Business Solutions et al v. Merchant Services, Inc et al

Filing 421

ORDER GRANTING LEASING DEFENDANTS LEAVE TO FILE A FURTHER DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS MOTION TO SEAL AND REQUIRING PLAINTIFFS TO EXPLAIN A DISCREPANCY. Signed by Judge Claudia Wilken on 11/15/2012. (ndr, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/15/2012)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JUST FILM, INC.; RAINBOW BUSINESS
SOLUTIONS, doing business as
PRECISION TUNE AUTO CARE;
BURLINGAME MOTORS, INC.; DIETZ
TOWING, INC.; THE ROSE DRESS,
INC.; VOLKER VON GLASENAPP; JERRY
SU; VERENA BAUMGARTNER; TERRY
JORDAN; LEWIS BAE; and ERIN
CAMPBELL, on behalf of
themselves, the general public
and those similarly situated,

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Plaintiffs,

No. C 10-1993 CW
ORDER GRANTING
LEASING DEFENDANTS
LEAVE TO FILE A
FURTHER
DECLARATION IN
SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION
TO SEAL AND
REQUIRING
PLAINTIFFS TO
EXPLAIN A
DISCREPANCY

v.
MERCHANT SERVICES, INC.; NATIONAL
PAYMENT PROCESSING; UNIVERSAL
MERCHANT SERVICES, LLC; UNIVERSAL
CARD, INC.; JASON MOORE; NATHAN
JURCZYK; ROBERT PARISI; ERIC
MADURA; FIONA WALSHE; ALICYN ROY;
MBF LEASING, LLC; NORTHERN
FUNDING, LLC; NORTHERN LEASING
SYSTEMS, INC.; GOLDEN EAGLE
LEASING, LLC; LEASE SOURCE-LSI,
LLC; LEASE FINANCE GROUP, LLC;
JAY COHEN; LEONARD MEZEI; SARA
KRIEGER; BRIAN FITZGERALD; SAM
BUONO; MBF MERCHANT CAPITAL, LLC;
RBL CAPITAL GROUP, LLC; WILLIAM
HEALY; JOSEPH I. SUSSMAN; JOSEPH
I. SUSSMAN, P.C.; and SKS
ASSOCIATES, LLC,
Defendants.
________________________________/
On November 13, 2012, the Court directed Plaintiffs to file a

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supplemental declaration in support of their motion to seal.
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On November 14, 2012, Leasing Defendants filed a declaration
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in support of Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file under seal, as
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required by the Court in Docket Nos. 408 and 413.
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Docket No. 419.

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In their filing, Leasing Defendants requested permission to submit

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a response to any declaration filed by Plaintiffs pursuant to the

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Court’s November 13, 2012 order.

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Later on November 14, 2012, Plaintiffs filed a supplemental

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declaration in support of their motion to seal.

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In the supplemental declaration, Plaintiffs corrected certain

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information that they had provided the Court previously

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identifying which party or nonparty had designated as confidential

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each portion of the documents that they sought to seal.

Docket No. 420.

Among

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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other corrections, Plaintiffs stated for the first time that they

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sought to seal a portion of their motion for leave to amend

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because it contained facts and argument based on information that

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Leasing Defendants had designated as confidential.

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Having reviewed the parties’ filings, the Court finds good

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cause to grant Leasing Defendants leave to file a supplemental

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declaration in response to Plaintiffs’ November 14, 2012 filing.

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Leasing Defendants shall do so by November 21, 2012.

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The Court notes that, in the declaration filed by Leasing

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Defendants today, they make numerous conclusory statements that

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disclosure of certain information “will result in irreparable harm

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to Leasing Defendants if made publicly available to competitors.”

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“‘[S]ources of business information that might harm a litigant’s

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competitive standing’ often warrant protection under seal.’”

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re NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litig., 2012

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U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140779, at *15 (N.D. Cal. 2012) (quoting Nixon v.

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Warner Communications, 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978)) (formatting in

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original).

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be based on articulated reasons.”

In

However, “a decision to seal such records must still
Id. (citing Apple Inc. v.
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Psystar Corp., 658 F.3d 1150, 1162 (9th Cir. 2011); Contratto v.

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Ethicon, Inc., 227 F.R.D. 304, 307 (N.D. Cal. 2005) (finding that

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an assertion of good cause based on harm to competitive and

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financial position requires a showing of “specific demonstrations

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of fact, supported where possible by affidavits and concrete

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examples”).

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their supplemental declaration.1

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court order permitting these documents to be filed in the public

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record, subject to the privacy protections contained in Federal

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Leasing Defendants may remedy these deficiencies in
Failure to do so may result in a

Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(a).
In Docket Nos. 411 and 420, Plaintiffs identified Leasing

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Defendants as the only ones who designated Exhibit UUU as

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confidential.

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declaration, they state that a third-party, FNBCT, had also

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produced this document and designated it as highly confidential.

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Within one Court day of the date of this Order, Plaintiffs shall

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explain this discrepancy to the Court.

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document as confidential and later waived or withdrew its

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designation, Plaintiffs shall provide a copy of any such written

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waiver or, if the waiver was given in non-written form, a

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declaration attesting under penalty of perjury that such a waiver

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was given.

In Leasing Defendants’ November 14, 2012

If FNBCT designated this

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The Court warns the parties that, in the future, they will be

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expected to comply with the requirements of Civil Local Rule 79-5,

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General Order 62 and the Court’s Orders, and to establish that

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Leasing Defendants should also review pages two and three
of the Court’s November 13, 2012 Order, which address the good
cause and compelling reasons standards for sealing court records.
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documents are sealable without repeated instructions from the

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Court.

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parties extra opportunities to do so.

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Further, absent good cause shown, the Court will not give

IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: 11/15/2012

CLAUDIA WILKEN
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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