San Diego Detox, LLC v. Detox Center of San Diego LLC et al
Filing
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ORDER granting in part and denying in part 78 Amended Motion to Seal. Signed by District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro on 5/08/2024. (jpp)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SAN DIEGO DETOX, LLC,
Case No.: 3:22-cv-01145-RBM-DDL
Plaintiff,
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v.
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DETOX CENTER OF SAN DIEGO LLC,
et al.,
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ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND
DENYING IN PART AMENDED
MOTION TO SEAL
[Doc. 78]
Defendants.
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Currently pending before the Court is Plaintiff San Diego Detox’s Amended Motion
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to Seal Pursuant to [77] Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motions to Seal [Docs.
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51, 57, 63] (“Amended Motion to Seal”). (Doc. 78.) For the reasons discussed below,
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Plaintiff’s Amended Motion to Seal is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.
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I.
BACKGROUND
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The Court incorporates its prior explanation of Plaintiff’s Motions to Seal 1, 2, and
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3 and Plaintiff’s bases to request sealing of accompanying lodged documents. (Doc. 77.)
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II.
LEGAL STANDARD
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“[T]he courts of this country recognize a 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 (1978). “Unless a particular court record is one
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3:22-cv-01145-RBM-DDL
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‘traditionally kept secret,’ a ‘strong presumption in favor of access’ is the starting point.”
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Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (citing Foltz v.
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State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). “The presumption
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of access is ‘based on the need for federal courts … to have a measure of accountability
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and for the public to have confidence in the administration of justice.’” Ctr. for Auto Safety
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v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v.
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Amodeo, 71 F.3d 1044, 1048 (2d Cir. 1995)).
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A party seeking to seal a judicial record bears the burden of overcoming the strong
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presumption of public access. Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1135. The showing required to meet this
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burden depends upon whether the documents to be sealed relate to a motion that is “more
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than tangentially related to the merits of the case.” Ctr. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1102.
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When the underlying motion is more than tangentially related to the merits, the
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“compelling reasons” standard applies. Id. at 1096–98. When the underlying motion does
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not surpass the tangential relevance threshold, the “good cause” standard applies. Id.
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The “compelling reasons” standard applies to documents related to a motion for
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summary judgment as well as a motion for preliminary injunction. Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1135–
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36; Ctr. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1103; see also In re Midland Nat. Life Ins. Co. Annuity
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Sales Pracs. Litig., 686 F.3d 1115, 1119–20 (9th Cir. 2012) (compelling reasons standard
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applied to Daubert motion filed in connection with pending summary judgment motion).
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The “compelling reasons” standard is generally satisfied if the moving party can show that
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the “‘court files might have become a vehicle for improper purposes,’ such as the use of
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records to gratify private spite, promote public scandal, circulate libelous statements, or
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release trade secrets.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (quoting Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598). The
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decision to seal documents is “one best left to the sound discretion of the trial court” upon
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consideration of “the relevant facts and circumstances of the particular case.” Nixon, 435
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U.S. at 599.
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Compelling reasons may exist if sealing is required to prevent documents from being
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used “as sources of business information that might harm a litigant’s competitive standing.”
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Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598. “[A] trial court has broad discretion to permit sealing of court
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documents for, inter alia, the protection of ‘a trade secret or other confidential research,
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development, or commercial information.’” GPNE Corp. v. Apple Inc., No. 12-cv-2885-
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LHK, 2015 WL 4381244, at *1 (N.D. Cal. July 16, 2015) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P.
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269(c)(1)(G)). Additionally, courts have been willing to seal court filings containing
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confidential business material, “such as marketing strategies, product development plans,
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licensing agreements, and profit, cost, and margin data,” where the “parties have been able
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to point to concrete factual information” to justify sealing. Cohen v. Trump, No. 13-cv-
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2519-GPC-WVG, 2016 WL 3036302, at *5 (S.D. Cal. May 27, 2016) (collecting cases);
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see also In re Electronic Arts, 298 F. App’x 568, 569 (9th Cir. 2008) (finding compelling
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reasons to seal “pricing terms, royalty rates, and guaranteed minimum payment terms”);
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Quidel Corp. v. Siemens Med. Sols. USA, Inc., No. 16-CV-3059-BAS-AGS, 2020 WL
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1062949, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 4, 2020) (applying compelling reasons standard to seal
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plaintiff’s “confidential financial and pricing information”). Because Plaintiff’s sealing
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motions concern their briefing on the cross-motions for summary judgment (Docs. 51, 57,
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63), the compelling reasons standard applies.
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III.
DISCUSSION
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The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s Amended Motion to Seal and accompanying
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lodged documents. (Docs. 78, 79.) In Plaintiff’s Amended Motion, it explains it is not
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seeking to renew its request to seal (1) Doc. 52-5, SDD 217, (2) Doc. 52-8, Exhibit 8, and
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(3) Doc. 50-5, Exhibit 21, and explains Exhibit 21 was included inadvertently. (Doc. 78 at
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2.)1 Additionally, Plaintiff renews its request to seal (1) Doc. 52-10, Exhibit 22, (2) Doc.
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52-10, Exhibit 23, (3) the unredacted version of Plaintiff’s MSJ, (4) the unredacted version
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of Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendants’ MSJ, and (5) the Unredacted Joint Statement of
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Disputed and Undisputed Facts re Cross Motions for Summary Judgment. (Id. at 2–3.)
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The Court cites the CM/ECF pagination unless otherwise noted.
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The Court addresses these documents below.
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1.
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Plaintiff explains Exhibit 22 is “Defendant’s financial statement.” (Id. at 2.) The
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Court has reviewed Exhibit 22 (Doc. 79 at 2–6) and determines there are compelling
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reasons to seal Defendants’ financial statement. See Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598.
Exhibit 22
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2.
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Plaintiff explains Exhibit 22 is “Plaintiff’s internal document which shows non-
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public click-through and impression data by month of SanDiegoDetox.com for Google
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AdWords, including its marketing expenses related thereto, and such internal metrics
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performance and financial metrics are highly confidential and would give competitors
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insight into Plaintiff’s budget and non-public strategies.” (Doc. 78 at 2.) The Court has
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reviewed Exhibit 22 (Doc. 79 at 8) and determines there are compelling reasons to seal this
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Google AdWords data. See Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598.
Exhibit 23
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3.
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The Court has reviewed the proposed redacted portions of Plaintiff’s MSJ. (Doc.
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79-1.) The Court determines there are compelling reasons to seal the redacted portions
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consistent with this Court’s prior order concerning Plaintiff’s Motions to Seal 1, 2 and 3
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(Doc. 77) and the Court’s sealing Exhibits 22 and 23 above. However, the Court does not
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find compelling reasons to seal redacted portions derived from Doc. 52-8, Exhibit 8, for
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which Plaintiff is not renewing its sealing motion.
Unredacted Motion
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4.
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The Court has reviewed the proposed redacted portions of Plaintiff’s Opposition to
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Defendant’s MSJ. (Doc. 79-2.) The Court determines there are compelling reasons to seal
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the redacted portions consistent with this Court’s prior order concerning Plaintiff’s Motions
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to Seal 1, 2 and 3 (Doc. 77) and the Court’s sealing Exhibits 22 and 23 above. However,
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the Court does not find compelling reasons to redact any other citation not addressed in the
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Court’s sealing orders. (See e.g., Doc. 79-2 at 24.)
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///
Unredacted Opposition
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5.
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The Court has reviewed the Unredacted Joint Statement of Disputed and Undisputed
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Facts re Cross Motions for Summary Judgment. (Doc. 79-3.) The Court determines there
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are compelling reasons to seal the redacted portions consistent with this Court’s prior order
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concerning Plaintiff’s Motions to Seal 1, 2 and 3 (Doc. 77) and the Court’s sealing Exhibits
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22 and 23 above.
Unredacted Joint Statement
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IV.
CONCLUSION
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For the reasons discussed above, Plaintiff’s Amended Motion to Seal (Doc. 78) is
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GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Plaintiff is ORDERED to publicly file
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the following on the docket on or before May 10, 2024:
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Doc. 52-5, SDD 217 and Doc. 52-8, Exhibit 8; and
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Any proposed redacted portion of Plaintiff’s MSJ (Doc. 79-1) and Plaintiff’s
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Opposition to Defendant’s MSJ (Doc. 79-2) inconsistent with the Court’s
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opinion above and the Court’s prior sealing order (Doc. 77).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: May 8, 2024
_____________________________________
HON. RUTH BERMUDEZ MONTENEGRO
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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