Baker v. Seaworld Entertainment, Inc. et al
Filing
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Order Requiring Plaintiffs to Submit Supplemental Briefing re: Motions to File Under Seal; and Setting Deadline for the Parties to File Objections to Documents Designated as Confidential. Plaintiffs must file a brief, not to exceed 10 pages, explaini ng why the documents and exhibits they wish to file under seal meet the applicable legal standard, on or before 7/12/2019. Additionally, to the extent the parties seek to file any objections to materials designated as confidential, each side may file a single brief outlining their respective objections, not to exceed 10 pages, on or before 7/12/2019. Signed by Judge Michael M. Anello on 7/1/2019.(rmc)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
LOU BAKER, individually and on behalf
of all others similarly situated,
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Case No.: 14cv2129-MMA (AGS)
ORDER REQUIRING PLAINTIFFS
TO SUBMIT SUPPLEMENTAL
BRIEFING RE: MOTIONS TO FILE
UNDER SEAL;
Plaintiffs,
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v.
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SEAWORLD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.,
et al.,
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AND SETTING DEADLINE FOR
THE PARTIES TO FILE
OBJECTIONS TO DOCUMENTS
DESIGNATED AS CONFIDENTIAL
Defendants.
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Class Representatives Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System and
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Pensionskassen for Børne-Og Ungdomspædagoger (“Plaintiffs”) and Defendants
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SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (“SeaWorld”), James M. Heaney, Marc Swanson, and the
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Blackstone Group L.P. (collectively, “Defendants”) move to file under seal certain
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documents and exhibits in connection with Defendants’ motion for summary judgment
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and the parties’ respective Daubert motions. In total, there are twenty (20) motions to
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file under seal pending before the Court. See Doc. Nos. 345, 348, 350, 352, 356, 360,
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368, 371, 374, 377, 382, 384, 387, 403, 405, 408, 412, 415, 418, 421.
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14cv2129-MMA (AGS)
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In support of their motions to file under seal, Defendants cite to both the Protective
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Order entered in this case (see Doc. No. 158) and the compelling reasons standard,
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articulating why compelling reasons exist to seal each document. Additionally,
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Defendants agree in large part that compelling reasons exist to seal the documents
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designated by Plaintiffs as confidential in this action.
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Plaintiffs rely solely on the Protective Order and maintain that they reserve the
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right to challenge Defendants’ confidentiality designations. The Protective Order permits
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a producing party to “designate as ‘Confidential’ information that has not been made
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public and that the Disclosing Party believes in good faith constitutes a trade secret or
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other confidential research, development or commercial information, specifically
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including any information for which applicable federal, state or foreign law requires
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confidential treatment.” Id. ¶ 4. The Protective Order further permits a party to object to
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another party’s designation of information as “Confidential” at “any stage in the
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proceedings” by providing written notification to counsel for the designating party. Id. ¶
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15. If the dispute is not resolved between the parties within fifteen (15) days of receipt of
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notice of the objection, the objecting party may move the Court for a ruling on the
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objection. See id. If counsel for any party or non-party files any confidential material,
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the party must file such information under seal. See id. ¶ 16. “Filing a document under
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seal is without prejudice to any party’s right to argue to the Court that the document is
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not Confidential and need not be preserved under seal.” Id.
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The Court has conducted a thorough and extensive review of the documents the
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parties seek to file under seal. The Court finds it inefficient and inappropriate to grant a
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motion to file under seal without considering the applicable legal standard. This is
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further complicated by the fact that a party can object and argue that such information
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need not be preserved under seal “any stage in the proceedings.” Id. ¶ 15 (emphasis
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added); see Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1138 (9th Cir. 2003)
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(noting that reliance on a protective order to seal documents filed with the court is
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problematic because a blanket protective order “is by nature overinclusive.”) (internal
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quotation marks and citation omitted).
Accordingly, in the interests of judicial economy, and in order for the Court to
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fully prepare for the upcoming hearing on Defendants’ motion for summary judgment
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and the parties’ respective Daubert motions, the Court concludes that supplemental
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briefing is warranted. Specifically, Plaintiffs must file a brief, not to exceed ten (10)
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pages, explaining why the documents and exhibits they wish to file under seal meet the
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applicable legal standard, on or before July 12, 2019.
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Additionally, to the extent the parties seek to file any objections to materials
designated as confidential, each side may file a single brief outlining their respective
objections, not to exceed ten (10) pages, on or before July 12, 2019.
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Further, while the Protective Order remains in full force and continues to bind the
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parties, the Court has discretion to adhere to a given procedure set forth in the Protective
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Order but is not obligated to do so. Thus, in the interests of judicial economy, any future
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motion(s) to file documents under seal must address the appropriate legal standard and
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explain why good cause or compelling reasons exist to seal such documents.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: July 1, 2019
_____________________________
HON. MICHAEL M. ANELLO
United States District Judge
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14cv2129-MMA (AGS)
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