Robert Heath v. Google Inc.

Filing 213

ORDER RE 211 STIPULATION REGARDING REDACTIONS TO PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE SAC AND PROPOSED SAC. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman on 8/25/2017. (blflc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/25/2017)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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ROBERT HEATH, ET AL.,
Plaintiffs,

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v.

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Case No. 15-cv-01824-BLF

GOOGLE INC.,

ORDER RE STIPULATION
REGARDING REDACTIONS TO
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR LEAVE
TO FILE SAC AND PROPOSED SAC

Defendant.

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The parties dispute which portions of Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a Second

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Amended Complaint (“SAC”) and proposed SAC should be sealed. On August 14, 2017, the

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Court issued a reasoned order on the sealing dispute and ordered the parties to “meet and confer

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and file a stipulation with a more narrowly redacted proposed SAC in light of the Court’s

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reasoning.” ECF 198. On August 24, 2017, the parties stipulated to the redaction of many

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contested provisions, but were unable to agree as to whether the Court’s Order requires unsealing

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the remaining provisions. ECF 211.
The Court has reviewed the parties’ stipulation and the unredacted version of Plaintiffs’

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proposed SAC. ECF 210, 210-1. The Court APPROVES the parties’ stipulation as to the portions

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of the documents to be sealed or not sealed, in accordance with the following chart from the

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parties:

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Document and Line(s)
SAC 2:20
Pls.’ Mot. to Amend 8:14-15
SAC 8:27
SAC 9:1-3
Pls.’ Mot. to Amend 8:17

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SAC 9:6-8

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SAC 9:8-11

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SAC 9:20-10:1

Parties’ Agreement as to the Excerpts
Unredacted
Unredacted
First sentence of the excerpt to be redacted;
second sentence of the excerpt to be
unredacted
First clause of the sentence to be redacted;
second clause of the sentence to be unredacted
Unredacted with the exception of the last 5
words of the sentence
Unredacted, beginning with, “When older….”

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Pls.’ Mot. to Amend 8:20
SAC 10:2-5

First clause of the excerpt to be redacted;
remainder to be unredacted
First four words of the line to be unredacted
First excerpt to be redacted; remainder to be
unredacted
Unredacted

SAC 10:8
SAC 10:8-19
Pls.’ Mot. to Amend 8:21-22
SAC 10:22-23

In line with the Court’s reasoning in its prior Order on this sealing dispute, the Court rules
on the remaining portions of Plaintiffs’ documents as follows:
Google has not established compelling reasons to seal the portions of Plaintiffs’ SAC at

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9:3-6 or Plaintiffs’ motion to amend at 8:18-19. These portions shall be unredacted in Plaintiffs’

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public filing of these documents. These comments do not reflect Google’s sensitive interview
questions and techniques. Although Google is correct that the disputed excerpt is not “only” the

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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interviewer’s impression of a specific candidate, it is an interviewer’s impression of how he or she

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would have fared as a candidate, which is not competitively sensitive information.

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However, Google has articulated compelling reasons to seal Plaintiffs’ proposed SAC at

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9:14-20 and the corresponding portion of Plaintiffs’ motion to amend at 8:19. The request is

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narrowly tailored to sealable material, and as such these portions shall be redacted in Plaintiffs’

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public filing. This information reflects the type of interview questions Google asks applicants. As

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the Court previously held, “[d]isclosure of interview questions could harm Google’s efforts to vet

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and hire employees by providing job applicants and competitors access to the ‘test questions’ in

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advance of the exam.” ECF 198.

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Pursuant to this Order, the Court’s August 14, 2017 Order, and the parties’ stipulation, the

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parties shall submit revised filings of Plaintiffs’ motion to amend and proposed SAC reflecting the

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appropriate redactions by September 1, 2017.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: August 25, 2017
______________________________________
BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge

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