Fowler v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Filing 100

ORDER by Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. GRANTING DEFENDANT'S 97 ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL.(ndrS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/23/2019)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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VANA FOWLER,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.,

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S
ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE
UNDER SEAL
Re: Dkt. No. 97

Defendant.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

Case No. 17-cv-02092-HSG

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Pending before the Court is Defendant’s administrative motion to file under seal the

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Settlement Class List. Dkt. No. 97. For the reasons articulated below, the Court GRANTS

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Defendant’s motion.

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I.

LEGAL STANDARD
Courts generally apply a “compelling reasons” standard when considering motions to seal

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documents. Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 678 (9th Cir. 2010) (quoting Kamakana

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v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006)). “This standard derives from the

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common law right ‘to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records

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and documents.’” Id. (quoting Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178). “[A] strong presumption in favor of

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access is the starting point.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178 (quotations omitted). To overcome this

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strong presumption, the party seeking to seal a judicial record attached to a dispositive motion

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must “articulate compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings that outweigh the

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general history of access and the public policies favoring disclosure, such as the public interest in

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understanding the judicial process” and “significant public events.” Id. at 1178–79 (quotations

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omitted). Civil Local Rule 79-5 supplements the compelling reasons standard set forth in

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Kamakana: the party seeking to file a document or portions of it under seal must “establish[] that

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the document, or portions thereof, are privileged, protectable as a trade secret or otherwise entitled

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to protection under the law . . . The request must be narrowly tailored to seek sealing only of

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sealable material.” Civil L.R. 79-5(b).
Records attached to nondispositive motions, however, are not subject to the strong

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presumption of access. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. Because such records “are often

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unrelated, or only tangentially related, to the underlying cause of action,” parties moving to seal

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must meet the lower “good cause” standard of Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

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Id. at 1179–80 (quotation omitted). This requires only a “particularized showing” that “specific

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prejudice or harm will result” if the information is disclosed. Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v.

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Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c).
“Broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated by specific examples of articulated reasoning” will

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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not suffice. Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992) (quotation

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omitted).

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II.

DISCUSSION
Defendant seeks to file under seal the Settlement Class List, which includes members’

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address information and unique identification number. Dkt. Nos. 97, 97-1, 97-2. The Court will

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apply the good cause standard to evaluate whether the Class List should be filed under seal.

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Based on a review of the motion, the accompanying declarations, and the Class List, the

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Court finds that there is good cause for the Class List to be sealed in its entirety. The Class List is

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subject to a confidentiality provision in the Settlement Agreement that requires the Class List to be

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filed under seal. Dkt. No. 80-1 § 7.6 (“No later than thirty (30) days after the Effective Date, the

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Settlement Administrator, upon the approval of the Court to file under seal pursuant to the

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Protective Order (to protect the names, addresses, and other personal information of Class

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Members), will cause to be filed with the Court a list of the names and addresses of all Class

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Members to whom the Notice was sent.”). Further, the Class List contains confidential and

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personal information about the Class Members, information courts have found important to keep

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confidential in order to protect an individual’s privacy interests and “prevent exposure to harm or

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identify theft.” Nursing Home Pension Fund v. Oracle Corp., No. C01-00988 MJJ, 2007 WL

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3232267, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 1, 2007); see also Benedict v. Hewlett-Packard Co., No. 13-CV2

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00119-LHK, 22014 WL 233827, at *3 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 21, 2014) (granting motion to seal personal

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information, including address, phone number, and email address). Accordingly, the Court finds

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that there is good cause to grant the administrative motion to file the Class List under seal.

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III.

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CONCLUSION
The Court GRANTS Defendant’s administrative motion to file under seal. See Dkt. No.

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97. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5(f)(1), documents filed under seal as to which the

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administrative motion is granted will remain under seal.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: 4/23/2019
______________________________________
HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR.
United States District Judge

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