Lin et al v. Suavei, Inc. et al

Filing 127

ORDER Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion to Seal (ECF No. 120 -1) For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS the request to seal Exhibit A in its entirety, Exhibit E pages 497-506 and Exhibit F in its entirety, and DENIES the request in all other respects. Signed by Judge M. James Lorenz on 11/13/2023. (cxl1)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JADE LIN, et al,

Case No.: 3:20-cv-0862-L-AHG
Plaintiffs,

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v.

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SUAVEI, INC., et al,

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND
DENYING IN PART MOTION TO
SEAL [ECF NO. 120-1.]

Defendants.

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Pending before the Court is Counterclaimant Frank DeJoy’s (“DeJoy”) motion to

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seal. (Mot. Seal at 2 [ECF No. 120-1 (“Mot.”).) Neither Plaintiffs nor Defendant Suavei

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filed an opposition. For the reasons stated below, the motion is granted in part and

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denied in part.
Sealing court records implicates the "general right to inspect and copy public

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records and documents, including judicial records and documents." Nixon v. Warner

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Commc'ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 & n.7 (1978). 1 The lack of opposition to a motion to

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seal therefore does not automatically resolve it. See Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins.

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Unless otherwise noted, internal quotation marks, citations, brackets, ellipses and
footnotes are omitted throughout.

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Co., 331 F.3d 1128, 1130 & passim (9th Cir. 2003).
Aside from “grand jury transcripts and warrant materials in the midst of a pre-

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indictment investigation,” a strong presumption applies in favor of public access to

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judicial records. Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th

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Cir. 2006). A party seeking to seal a judicial record bears the burden of overcoming the

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strong presumption of public access by meeting the “compelling reasons” standard. Id. at

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1178. Compelling reasons for sealing information exist “when such ‘court files might

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have become a vehicle for improper purposes,’ such as the use of records to gratify

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private spite, promote public scandal, circulate libelous statements, or release trade

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secrets.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (quoting Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598). The compelling

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reasons standard applies to documents filed in relation to any motion except a motion that

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is only “tangentially related to the merits of a case.” Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp.

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LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101 (9th Cir. 2016). "Under this exception, a party need only

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satisfy the less exacting 'good cause' standard" under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

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26(c). Id. at 1097. “Broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated by specific examples or

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articulated reasoning, do not satisfy the Rule 26(c) test.” Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l

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Ins. Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992).

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The documents DeJoy requests to seal were filed in support of DeJoy’s motion for

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default judgment. (See Motion. [ECF No. 120-1.]) Here, the motion is related to the

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merits, accordingly the Court applies the “compelling reason” standard. See Kamakana,

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447 F.3d at 1179.

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DeJoy seeks to have the following filed under seal:
1. Exhibit A, in its entirety. Exhibit A is prepared by DeJoy’s accountants

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regarding his damages and includes financial documents supporting DeJoy’s

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economic loss claims. Exhibit A includes bank statements, financial

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documents, documents showing loss of job opportunity because of pending

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third-party complaint, all of which protected from disclosure by right to

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privacy of financial documents, legal invoices protected from disclosure by
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attorney-client privilege)[sic];
2. Exhibit B, two exhibits marked at the deposition of Afonso Infante on

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January 25, 2022, B:231-232 (Suavei’s financial statements) and 233-251

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(Suavei’s confidential trade secret, commercially sensitive materials);

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3. Exhibit C, in its entirety. Exhibit C is the transcript of deposition testimony

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of Afonso Infante on January 26, 2022 which was marked “Confidential”

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pursuant to the protective order [ECF No. 51] and confidential exhibits

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introduced during the deposition on January 26, 2022;

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4. Exhibit D, pages 402, 404-440, 472-474, 476, 478, 480, 482, 484-485, 487-

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490, 492-496 which are financial documents of Suavei and marked

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confidential by Suavei’s counsel;

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5. Exhibit E, in its entirety, pages 497-506, which are legal invoices from the

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law firm of Rutan Tucker and protected from disclosure by attorney-client

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privilege and work product doctrine; and

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6. Exhibit F, in its entirety, which are legal invoices from the law firm of

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Ropers Majeski for professional services rendered from July 1, 2023 to

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present, and protected from disclosure by attorney-client privilege and work

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product doctrine.

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(Id. at 4-5).
DeJoy argues that the financial documents in Exhibit A warrant sealing because

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they are entitled to the right to privacy as personal financial documents. (Mot. to Seal at

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4-5 [ECF No. 120-1.]) District courts within the Ninth Circuit have found that a party's

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legitimate interest in ensuring the privacy of personal information outweighs the public's

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interest in access to court filings. See Activision Publ'g, Inc. v. EngineOwning UG, No.

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CV 2:22-cv-00051-MWF (JCx), 2023 WL 2347134, at *1 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 27, 2023)

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(“[C]ompelling reasons exist to keep personal information confidential to protect an

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individual's privacy interest and to prevent exposure to harm or identity theft.”); Nursing

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Home Pension Fund v. Oracle Corp., No. C01-00988 MJJ, 2007 WL 3232267, at *2
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(N.D. Cal. Nov. 1, 2007) (finding compelling reasons to seal home addresses and

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financial account information). Such information is therefore sealable under the

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“compelling reason” standard. See Ctr. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1097. Therefore,

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Court GRANTS DeJoy’s motion to seal Exhibit A in its entirety.

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DeJoy requests that the Court seal portions of Exhibits B and D because they

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purportedly contain Suavei’s financial documents and “confidential trade secret,

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commercially sensitive materials.” (Mot. Seal at 4-5). Although trade secrets,

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commercially sensitive materials, and materials marked confidential may be sealed where

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“compelling reasons” are found, a particularized factual showing is required. Foltz v.

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State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1137 (9th Cir. 2003). DeJoy has not

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sufficiently supported his request to seal these documents with particularity, therefore,

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the Court DENIES his request.

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DeJoy argues that Infante’s deposition testimony in Exhibit C should be sealed in

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its entirety because the deposition is subject to a protective order. (Mot. to Seal at 4.)

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That a document is designated confidential pursuant to a protective order is of little

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weight when it comes to sealing court filings. See San Jose Mercury News, Inc. v. U.S.

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Dist. Ct.(Saldivar), 187 F.3d 1096, 1103 (9th Cir. 1999); Beckman Indus. v. Int'l Ins. Co.,

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966 F.2d 470, 475-76 (9th Cir. 1992); Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Or. v.

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Weyerhaeuser Co., 340 F. Supp. 2d 1118, 1121 (D. Or. 2003). By nature, protective

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orders are over inclusive, see Beckman, 966 F.2d at 476, because prior to signing, the

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judge typically does not have the opportunity to analyze whether any particular document

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should be sealed. See San Jose Mercury News, 187 F.3d at 1103; Foltz, 331 F.3d at

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1133. “Several legal sources bear upon the decision to seal or unseal a document,

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including Fed.R.Civ.P. 26, the common law right, and the First Amendment. San Jose

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Mercury News, 187 F.3d at 1101–02; Chicago Tribune Co. v. Bridgestone/Firestone,

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Inc., 263 F.3d 1304, 1309–10 (11th Cir.2001)).

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The Court has reviewed Infante’s deposition in Exhibit C and finds that DeJoy’s
reliance on the protective order is insufficient to warrant sealing of Exhibit C. DeJoy has
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not identified with particularity any material contained within the transcript that should

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be sealed. Instead, the broad “allegations of harm, unsubstantiated by specific examples

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or articulated reasoning, do not satisfy the Rule 26(c) test.” Beckman Indus., Inc., 966

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F.2d at 476. The Court therefore DENIES DeJoy’s request to seal the entirety of Exhibit

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C.

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Finally, DeJoy requests that the invoices supporting his request for attorneys’ fees

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and costs from law firm Rutan Tucker, Exhibit E pages 497-506, and Ropers Majerski,

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Exhibit F in its entirety, be sealed under the attorney-client privilege and work-product

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doctrines. (Mot. at 5). District courts in the Ninth Circuit have found attorney–client

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privilege and the work-product doctrine sufficiently justify sealing, even under the higher

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“compelling reason” standard. See In re Hewlett-Packard Co. S'holder Derivative Litig.,

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No. 15-16688, 2017 WL 5712130, at *4 (9th Cir. Nov. 28, 2017) (affirming sealing

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decision where “[t]he special master found that HP provided compelling reasons to

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justify its sealing motion, including that the documents at issue included ... material

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protected by the attorney–client privilege and the work product doctrine.”) Accordingly,

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the Court GRANTS DeJoy’s request to seal Exhibit E pages 497-506 and Exhibit F in its

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entirety.

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For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS the request to seal Exhibit A in its

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entirety, Exhibit E pages 497-506 and Exhibit F in its entirety, and DENIES the request

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in all other respects.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: November 13, 2023

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