Eidler et al v. Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. GRANTING 264 ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL. (ndr, 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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STACIA STINER, et al.,
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Plaintiffs,
v.
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BROOKDALE SENIOR LIVING, INC., et
al.,
Case No. 17-cv-03962-HSG
ORDER GRANTING
ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE
UNDER SEAL
Re: Dkt. No. 264
United States District Court
Northern District of California
Defendants.
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Pending before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Administrative Motion to File Under Seal
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portions of the Proof of Service of the Motion for Substitution (“Proof of Service”). Dkt. No. 264
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(“Mot.”). Plaintiffs seek to seal the Proof of Service and attached exhibits to remove any personal
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identifying information of the named Plaintiffs’ family members. For the following reasons, the
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Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion.
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I.
LEGAL STANARD
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).
Records attached to non-dispositive motions must meet the lower “good cause” standard of
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Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as such records “are often unrelated, or only
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tangentially related, to the underlying cause of action.” Id. at 1179–80 (quotations omitted). This
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requires a “particularized showing” that “specific prejudice or harm will result” if the information
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is disclosed. Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th
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Cir. 2002); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). “Broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated by specific
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examples of articulated reasoning” will not suffice. Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. Co., 966
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F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992) (quotation omitted).
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II.
Because the Proof of Service and associated documents that Plaintiffs seek to seal are
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
DISCUSSION
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attached to a non-dispositive Motion for Substitution, the Court applies the lower “good cause”
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standard.
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Plaintiffs filed the Proof of Service for the limited purpose of showing that their nonparty
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family members had notice of and did not oppose the underlying Motion for Substitution, which
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the Court has already granted. See Dkt. No. 260. Plaintiffs seek to redact from the Proof of
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Service the names and addresses of their nonparty family members. See Mot. at 3.
The Court finds that the names and addresses of Plaintiffs’ nonparty family members have
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minimal relevance and are at best “only tangentially related” to the underlying causes of action
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and therefore need not be accessible to the public. Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. Moreover, the
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nonparty family members have legitimate privacy interests in keeping their identities private. See
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Chloe SAS v. Sawabeh Info. Servs. Co., No. 11-CV-04147-MMM, 2015 WL 12734004, at *3
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(C.D. Cal. Feb. 4, 2015) (finding privacy interests of nonparties sufficient to justify sealing under
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the good cause standard and citing cases); Doe v. City of San Diego, No. 12-CV-689-MMA-DHB,
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2014 WL 1921742, at *4 (S.D. Cal. May 14, 2014) (exhibit’s disclosure of personal information
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and irrelevance to the matter are compelling reasons to seal the exhibit).
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Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: 3/29/2022
______________________________________
HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR.
United States District Judge
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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