Congdon et al v. Uber Technologies, Inc. et al

Filing 134

ORDER by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers; granting in part and denying in part 110 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal; granting in part and denying in part 111 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal. (fs, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/8/2018)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CHUCK CONGDON, ET AL.,
Plaintiffs,

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CASE NO. 16-cv-02499-YGR

vs.
UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., ET AL.,
Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING
IN PART PLAINTIFFS’ ADMINISTRATIVE
MOTIONS TO SEAL
Re: Dkt. Nos. 110, 111

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Plaintiffs have filed motions to seal in connection with their class certification and

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summary judgment motions. (Dkt. Nos. 110, 111 (“Sealing Motions”).) Having carefully

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considered the requests to seal, the declarations in support, and the underlying documents, and for

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the reasons set for below, the Sealing Motions are GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. The

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individual findings on each item are set forth below.

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The underlying motions at issue are a mix of dispositive and non-dispositive motions. A

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motion to seal documents that are part of the judicial record on a dispositive motion or for trial is

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governed by the “compelling reasons” standard. Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665,

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678 (9th Cir. 2010). A “party seeking to seal judicial records must show that ‘compelling reasons

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supported by specific factual findings . . . outweigh the general history of access and the public

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policies favoring disclosure.’” Id. (quoting Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d

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1172, 1178–79 (9th Cir. 2006)). The trial court must weigh relevant factors including the “public

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interest in understanding the judicial process and whether disclosure of the material could result in

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improper use of the material for scandalous or libelous purposes or infringement upon trade

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secrets.” Id. at 679 n.6 (quoting Hagestad v. Tragesser, 49 F.3d 1430, 1434 (9th Cir.1995)).

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Compelling reasons may be demonstrated where documents would reveal detailed and product-

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specific information that would put a party at a competitive disadvantage. See Apple Inc. v.

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Samsung Elecs. Co., Ltd., 727 F.3d 1214, 1225 (Fed. Cir. 2013) (applying Ninth Circuit law).1
Here, the parties have sufficiently articulated compelling reasons to seal certain documents

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containing highly sensitive and confidential, trade secret, and proprietary information, including

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information relating to Uber’s prices, business strategy, stocks, and marketing strategies. They

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have not established compelling reasons to seal more general information about Uber’s operations,

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or payments to drivers and Safe Rides Fees directly related to the matters at issue in this litigation

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and their pending motions. The Court has carefully reviewed the documents and exercised its

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discretion to seal only those portions of the evidence submitted that would reveal highly sensitive

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and confidential, trade secret, and proprietary information.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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The Court’s individual findings as to the documents referenced in plaintiffs’ summary
judgment and class certification motions are the following:

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Documents Sought To Be Sealed Solely in Connection with
Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment
Document or Portion of
Evidence Offered in Support of
Order
Document Sought to be
Sealing
Sealed
Plaintiffs’ Motion for
Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point.
DENIED
Summary Judgment at page 5,
lines 8-15
Plaintiffs’ Motion for
Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point.
DENIED
Summary Judgment at page 5,
lines 17-20
Plaintiffs’ Motion for
Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point.
DENIED
Summary Judgment at page 16,
fn. 15
UBERCONG0000101Ruiz Decl. ¶ 7
GRANTED
0000102
UBERCONG00002460000247

Ruiz Decl. ¶ 8

GRANTED

Documents Sought To Be Sealed Solely in Connection with
Plaintiffs’ Class Certification Motion

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The Court recognizes that motions to seal documents in connection with non-dispositive
motions generally are governed by a lower “good cause” standard. See Pintos, 565 F.3d at 1180;
Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179–80. The Court has taken that lower standard into account, as
appropriate, in ruling on the pending motions, bearing in mind that much of the same evidence
was submitted in connection with both plaintiffs’ dispositive summary judgment motion and their
non-dispositive class certification motion.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Document or Portion of
Evidence Offered in Support of
Order
Document Sought to be
Sealing
Sealed
Plaintiffs’ Class Certification
Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point GRANTED
Motion at page 12, lines 7-27
Plaintiffs’ Class Certification
Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point GRANTED
Motion at page 13, lines 1-16
Plaintiffs’ Class Certification
Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point GRANTED
Motion at page 13, lines 22-28
Plaintiffs’ Class Certification
Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point GRANTED
Motion at page 14, lines 1-2
Plaintiffs’ Class Certification
Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point GRANTED
Motion at page 17, 6-16
Documents Sought To Be Sealed in Connection with Both Plaintiffs’ Class Certification
Motion and Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment
Document or Portion of
Evidence Offered in Support of
Document Sought to be
Sealing
Sealed
Colman Depo. at page 16, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, third bullet point
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Order

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 17, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, third bullet point
16-17

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 17, line Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, third bullet point
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Colman Depo. at page 22, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
7-21

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 23, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
21-24

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 24, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
3-6
Colman Depo. at page 24, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
12-13

GRANTED

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Colman Depo. at page 24, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
15-17

GRANTED

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GRANTED

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Colman Depo. at page 25, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
9-14

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Colman Depo. at page 26, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
4-12

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 26, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
15-18

DENIED

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GRANTED

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 28, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
5-13

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 29, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
12-25

GRANTED

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Colman Depo. at page 30, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
2-24

GRANTED

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Colman Depo. at page 37, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
19-25

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 38, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
1-21

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 38, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
23-24

GRANTED
GRANTED

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Colman Depo. at page 39, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
1-4

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Colman Depo. at page 39, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
7-14

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 39, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
18-25
Colman Depo. at page 40, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
1-3
Colman Depo. at page 40, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, second bullet point
5-11

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 43, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
10-13
Colman Depo. at page 46, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
9-22

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 46, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
24-25

DENIED
DENIED

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Colman Depo. at page 47, line Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
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Colman Depo. at page 47, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
3-4

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 47 lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
7-10

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 47, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
13-16

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 47, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
18-21

DENIED

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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DENIED
DENIED

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 47, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
22-25

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 48, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
1-2

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 48, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
9-10

DENIED

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Colman Depo. at page 48, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
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DENIED
DENIED

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Colman Depo. at page 111, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
lines 3-10

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Colman Depo. at page 111, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
lines 14-15

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 112, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
lines 4-7
Colman Depo. at page 112, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
lines 9-10

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 112, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
lines 12-14
Colman Depo. at page 144, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
lines 7-10

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 144, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, first bullet point
lines 14-17

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 168, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 7-13

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 168, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 21-25

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 169, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 1-3

DENIED

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Colman Depo. at page 169, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 13-17

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 169, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 19-21

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 169, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 24-25

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 170, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 16-19

DENIED

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Colman Depo. at page 171, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 8-24

GRANTED

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Colman Depo. at page 172, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 1-12

GRANTED

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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DENIED

DENIED

Colman Depo. at page 172, line Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
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Colman Depo. at page 172, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 16-25

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 173, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 1-2

GRANTED

Colman Depo. at page 173, Ruiz Decl. ¶ 5, fourth bullet point
lines 4-5

GRANTED

Priest Depo. at page 20, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 6, first bullet point
21-24

DENIED

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Priest Depo. at page 21, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 6, first bullet point
4-17

GRANTED

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Priest Depo. at page 24, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 6, first bullet point
8-23

GRANTED

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Priest Depo. at page 26, lines Ruiz Decl. ¶ 6, first bullet point
1-10

GRANTED

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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GRANTED

The parties shall file in the public record the documents or portions thereof as to which the

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requests to seal have been denied, consistent with this Order, within 7 days. See Local Rule 79-

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5(f)(3).

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This Order terminates Docket Numbers 110 and 111.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: March 8, 2018

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YVONNE GONZALEZ ROGERS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

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