Wheeler v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. et al

Filing 45

ORDER re 42 Plaintiff's Motion to File Documents Under Seal. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED as follows: 1. The motion to file under seal is granted temporarily; 2. On or before January 18, 2017, Defendant shall file either (a) a memorandum not to exceed ten pages explaining why the documents should be filed under seal, with citation to legal authority, if any; or (b) a notice that the confidential designation is withdrawn and the document(s) can be filed publicly; 3. Plaintiff may, but is not obligated to, file a memorandum not to exceed ten pages asserting her position as to whether the documents should be filed under seal; and 4. Upon receipt of the response(s) to this Order, the Court will determine whether to order that the documents be sealed permanently, or publicly filed. Signed by Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo on 1/11/2017. (kcm)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JANET WHEELER,

Case No.: 15-CV-2236-CAB-AGS
Plaintiff,

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ORDER RE PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER
SEAL

v.
HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC.,

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Defendant.
[Doc. No. 42]

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This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s motion to file documents under seal

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[Doc. No. 42] in connection with his opposition to Defendant’s motion for summary

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judgment. Plaintiff’s only argument supporting the confidential nature of these documents

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is that they were designated as confidential by Defendant. Consequently, the Court does

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not expect any opposition to the motion from Defendant, who bears the burden of

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establishing why these documents should be sealed. However, it is not obvious from the

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contents of the documents themselves that “compelling reasons” justify sealing the

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documents notwithstanding the “strong presumption” in favor of public access. See

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Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (“A party

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seeking to seal a judicial record then bears the burden of overcoming this strong

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presumption by meeting the “compelling reasons” standard.”).

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In light of the foregoing, the Court is disinclined to allow the documents seal-lodged

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at Docket Number 43 to be filed under seal. Nevertheless, the Court does not want to

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further delay this case with argument about the documents’ purported confidential nature.
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15-CV-2236-CAB-AGS

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Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:

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1. The motion to file under seal is GRANTED temporarily;

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2. On or before January 18, 2017, Defendant shall file either (a) a memorandum not

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to exceed ten pages explaining why the documents should be filed under seal,

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with citation to legal authority, if any; or (b) a notice that the confidential

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designation is withdrawn and the document(s) can be filed publicly;

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3. Plaintiff may, but is not obligated to, file a memorandum not to exceed ten pages

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asserting her position as to whether the documents should be filed under seal; and

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4. Upon receipt of the response(s) to this Order, the Court will determine whether

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to order that the documents be sealed permanently, or publicly filed.
It is SO ORDERED.
Dated: January 11, 2017

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15-CV-2236-CAB-AGS