Robert Heath v. Google Inc.
Filing
325
ORDER GRANTING 311 PLAINTIFF'S ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL; GRANTING 315 PLAINTIFFS' ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman on 8/7/2018. (blflc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/7/2018)
1
2
3
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
4
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
5
SAN JOSE DIVISION
6
7
ROBERT HEATH, ET AL.,
Plaintiffs,
8
v.
9
10
GOOGLE LLC,
Defendant.
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
Case No. 15-cv-01824-BLF
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’
ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO
SEAL
[RE: ECF 311, 315]
12
Before the Court are Plaintiff Cheryl Fillekes and Opt-In Plaintiffs’ administrative motion
13
to file under seal Plaintiffs’ Notice of Voluntary Withdrawal of Consent to Join Forms (ECF 311)
14
and Plaintiffs’ administrative motion to file under seal a motion to withdraw as attorney of record
15
for certain Opt-In Plaintiffs (ECF 315). For the reasons that follow, both motions to seal are
16
GRANTED.
17
18
I.
LEGAL STANDARD
“Historically, courts have recognized a ‘general right to inspect and copy public records
19
and documents, including judicial records and documents.’” Kamakana v. City & Cty. Of
20
Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435
21
U.S. 589, 597 & n. 7 (1978)). Accordingly, when considering a sealing request, “a ‘strong
22
presumption in favor of access’ is the starting point.” Id. (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto.
23
Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). Parties seeking to seal judicial records relating to
24
motions that are “more than tangentially related to the underlying cause of action” bear the burden
25
of overcoming the presumption with “compelling reasons” that outweigh the general history of
26
access and the public policies favoring disclosure. Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., 809 F.3d
27
1092, 1099 (9th Cir. 2016); Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178–79.
28
However, “while protecting the public’s interest in access to the courts, we must remain
1
mindful of the parties’ right to access those same courts upon terms which will not unduly harm
2
their competitive interest.” Apple Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co., Ltd., 727 F.3d 1214, 1228–29 (Fed.
3
Cir. 2013). Records attached to motions that are “not related, or only tangentially related, to the
4
merits of a case” therefore are not subject to the strong presumption of access. Ctr. for Auto
5
Safety, 809 F.3d at 1099; see also Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (“[T]he public has less of a need
6
for access to court records attached only to non-dispositive motions because those documents are
7
often unrelated, or only tangentially related, to the underlying cause of action.”). Parties moving
8
to seal the documents attached to such motions must meet the lower “good cause” standard of
9
Rule 26(c). Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (internal quotations and citations omitted). This
standard requires a “particularized showing,” id., that “specific prejudice or harm will result” if the
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
information is disclosed. Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206,
12
1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). “Broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated
13
by specific examples of articulated reasoning” will not suffice. Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins.
14
Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992). A protective order sealing the documents during
15
discovery may reflect the court’s previous determination that good cause exists to keep the
16
documents sealed, see Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179–80, but a blanket protective order that allows
17
the parties to designate confidential documents does not provide sufficient judicial scrutiny to
18
determine whether each particular document should remain sealed. See Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(A)
19
(“Reference to a stipulation or protective order that allows a party to designate certain documents
20
as confidential is not sufficient to establish that a document, or portions thereof, are sealable.”).
21
In addition to making particularized showings of good cause, parties moving to seal
22
documents must comply with the procedures established by Civ. L.R. 79-5. Pursuant to Civ. L.R.
23
79-5(b), a sealing order is appropriate only upon a request that establishes the document is
24
“sealable,” or “privileged or protectable as a trade secret or otherwise entitled to protection under
25
the law.” “The request must be narrowly tailored to seek sealing only of sealable material, and
26
must conform with Civil L.R. 79-5(d).” Civ. L.R. 79-5(b). In part, Civ. L.R. 79-5(d) requires the
27
submitting party to attach a “proposed order that is narrowly tailored to seal only the sealable
28
material” which “lists in table format each document or portion thereof that is sought to be
2
1
sealed,” Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(b), and an “unredacted version of the document” that indicates “by
2
highlighting or other clear method, the portions of the document that have been omitted from the
3
redacted version.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(d). “Within 4 days of the filing of the Administrative
4
Motion to File Under Seal, the Designating Party must file a declaration as required by subsection
5
79-5(d)(1)(A) establishing that all of the designated material is sealable.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1).
6
7
II.
DISCUSSION
The Court has reviewed both motions to seal and the declarations submitted in support
thereof. See ECF 311; Declaration of Daniel Kotchen, ECF 311-1; ECF 315; Declaration of
9
Daniel Low, ECF 315-1. In both motions, the movants seek to file under seal the names of certain
10
Opt-In Plaintiffs. First, Plaintiff Fillekes and the Opt-In Plaintiffs seek to seal the names of Opt-In
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
8
Plaintiffs who wish to voluntarily withdraw their Consent to Join Forms, which the parties filed
12
under seal pursuant to Court Order, see ECF 152. See ECF 311. Second, Plaintiffs seek to seal
13
the names of certain Opt-In Plaintiffs for whom counsel would like to withdraw as attorney of
14
record. See ECF 315.
15
Notices and motions to withdraw as counsel are non-dispositive filings to which the “good
16
cause” standard applies. The Court finds that good cause exists to seal the Opt-In Plaintiffs’
17
personal information in both filings. The Court has previously granted administrative motions to
18
seal documents in this case containing the personal information of Google’s applicants, including
19
their names. See ECF 197, 256, 298, 323. As with those motions, sealing this information is
20
justified to maintain the confidentiality of the Plaintiffs’ personal information and to prevent their
21
exposure to harm or identity theft. Moreover, both requests are narrowly tailored to seal only
22
those portions of relevant filings disclosing the names of Opt-In Plaintiffs. As such, the Court
23
finds good cause to seal portions of the Notice of Voluntary Withdrawal of Consent to Join Forms
24
and portions of the Motion to Withdraw as Attorney of Record for Certain Opt-In Plaintiffs, and
25
thus GRANTS both motions to seal.
26
27
As redacted versions of the notice and the motion to withdraw have been filed in the public
record, and unredacted versions have been filed under seal, no further action is necessary.
28
3
1
IT IS SO ORDERED.
2
3
4
5
Dated: August 7, 2018
______________________________________
BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge
6
7
8
9
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
4
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?