Primo Broodstock, Inc. v. American Mariculture, Inc. et al

Filing 110

ORDER granting 108 Motion to Seal Documents Designated Attorneys' Eyes Only to be Filed in Support of Motion to Compel. Plaintiff shall have up to and including July 20, 2018 to file under seal the "sample documents" identified in the Motion to Seal. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carol Mirando on 7/19/2018. (DRS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
PB LEGACY, INC and TB FOODS
USA, LLC, a Texas Corporation
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No: 2:17-cv-9-FtM-29CM

AMERICAN MARICULTURE,
INC., AMERICAN PENAEID, INC.
and ROBIN PEARL,
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court upon review of the Motion to Seal
Documents Designated Attorneys’ Eyes Only to be Filed in Support of Motion to
Compel (“Motion to Seal”) filed on July 17, 2018.

Doc. 108.

Plaintiffs move

pursuant to Middle District of Florida Local Rule 1.09 to file under seal certain
exhibits in support of its Motion to Compel as to its First Set of Requests for
Production Directed to all Defendants and for Sanctions (“Motion to Compel”). Id.
at 2-4; see Doc. 106. Defendants American Mariculture, Inc., American Penaeid, Inc.
and Robin Pearl have not responded as the time to do so has not yet expired, and
Plaintiffs’ Motion to Seal does not indicate whether it is opposed.1 In the interests

Local Rule 3.01(g) requires that each motion filed in a civil case, with certain
enumerated exceptions not at issue here, contain a statement regarding “whether counsel
agree on the resolution of the motion.” M.D. Fla. R. 3.01(g). Any future motions that fail
to comply with Local Rule 3.01(g) will be denied on that basis.
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of efficient resolution of the underlying Motion to Compel, however, the Motion to
Seal will be granted.
Under Local Rule 1.09(b):
If filing under seal is authorized by statute, rule, or order (including an
order requiring or permitting a seal and obtained pursuant to (a) of this
rule), a party seeking to file under seal any paper or other matter in any
civil case shall file and serve a motion, the title of which includes the
words “Motion to Seal Pursuant to [Statute, Rule, or Order]” and which
includes: (i) a citation to the statute, rule, or order authorizing the seal;
(ii) an identification and description of each item submitted for sealing;
(iii) a statement of the proposed duration of the seal; and (iv) a statement
establishing that the items submitted for sealing are within the
identified statute, rule, or order the movant cites as authorizing the seal.
M.D. Fla. Rule 1.09(b).

The Order Granting Joint Motion for Entry of

Confidentiality Protective Order and Order Regarding the Disclosure of Privileged
Information (“Confidentiality Order”) authorizes and requires the parties to follow
the procedures set forth in Local Rule 1.09 for filing under seal documents or
information designated as confidential. See Doc. 102 at 8-9; see also Doc. 108 at 2.
This requirement applies even if the moving party does not agree the document
requires sealing, but the moving party may argue against the need for sealing in the
motion.

See Doc. 102 at 8-9.

In such a situation, the Confidentiality Order

indicates the designator should have the opportunity to argue in favor of sealing. Id.
Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel seeks, in part, a court order requiring Defendants
to remove the blanketed “Attorneys’ Eyes Only” (“AEO”) designation on all 36,046
documents produced in its second production, to provide good cause justification for
AEO designation on a document-by-document basis, and to remove unwarranted
redactions from the produced documents. Doc 108 at 2; see also Doc. 106 at 2-3, 9-

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10, 17-22. Therefore, Plaintiffs’ position is that the documents they seek to file in
support of the Motion to Compel are not in fact confidential, but they are nonetheless
required to seek leave to file the documents under seal given the Confidentiality
Order. Doc. 108 at 2-3. Given that the parties conferred “repeatedly and at length”
regarding the underlying Motion to Compel—which, in part, addresses whether the
documents at issue are rightly designated as confidential—it would appear
Defendants believe the documents they designated as confidential should be filed
under seal. See Doc. 106 at 10-11. Therefore, because the confidentiality of the
documents is at issue in the underlying Motion to Compel and Plaintiffs have
sufficiently identified and described the documents proposed for sealing pursuant to
Local Rule 1.09(b) and the Confidentiality Order, the Court finds good cause to grant
the Motion to Seal pending resolution of the underlying Motion to Compel.
ACCORDINGLY, it is
ORDERED:
The Motion to Seal Documents Designated Attorneys’ Eyes Only to be Filed in
Support of Motion to Compel (Doc. 108) is GRANTED. Plaintiff shall have up to and
including July 20, 2018 to file under seal the “sample documents” identified in the
Motion to Seal (Doc. 108 ¶ 8).

If the Court determines the documents are not

properly designated as confidential under the Confidentiality Order, the Court will
unseal the documents.

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DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on this 19th day of July, 2018.

Copies:
Counsel of record

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