Ameritox, LTD. v. Millennium Laboratories, Inc.

Filing 170

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 141 Motion to file document under seal. Signed by Judge Susan C Bucklew on 11/14/2012. (JD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION

AMERITOX, LTD.,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No.: 8:11-cv-775-T-24-TBM

MILLENNIUM LABORATORIES, INC.,
Defendant.
_________________________________/
ORDER
This cause comes before the Court on Defendant’s Motion for Leave to File Under Seal.
(Doc. No. 141). Plaintiff opposes the motion. (Doc. No. 148). The Court held a hearing on the
motion on October 19, 2012. As explained below, the motion is granted in part and denied in
part.
Plaintiff Ameritox is a clinical laboratory that engages in screening urine specimens for
the presence of drugs. Defendant Millennium is one of Plaintiff’s competitors in the industry.
The parties have been engaged in extensive litigation and have asserted various claims and
counterclaims against each other.
In the instant motion, Defendant seeks leave of Court to file a motion to stay discovery
under seal. Defendant contends that sealing is necessary, because the motion will detail highly
confidential, non-public developments that have occurred this year. Specifically, Defendant
contends that the U.S. Attorneys' Office for the District of Massachusetts has been conducting an
inquiry into Defendant's business, and Defendant's motion to stay discovery will further detail
this development.

Defendant has submitted a courtesy copy of the proposed motion to stay discovery to
Chambers for review, and based on the Court’s review, the Court concludes that the proposed
motion to stay discovery does not contain any highly confidential, non-public information that
would necessitate its filing under seal. However, attached to the proposed motion to stay
discovery are six exhibits. Upon review of the six exhibits, the Court concludes that first three
exhibits may be filed under seal. Therefore, if Defendant chooses to file a motion to stay
discovery on the public docket, it may submit Exhibits 1, 2, and 3 (which were attached to the
proposed motion to stay discovery) under seal in support of its motion.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that:
(1)

Defendant’s Motion for Leave to File Under Seal (Doc. No. 141) is GRANTED
IN PART AND DENIED IN PART: The motion is GRANTED to the extent
that Defendant may submit Exhibits 1, 2, and 3 (which were attached to the
proposed motion to stay discovery) under seal if Defendant chooses to file a
motion to stay discovery on the public docket; otherwise, the motion is DENIED.

(2)

In order to have the exhibits filed under seal, Defendant must submit the exhibits
in paper format, along with a copy of this Order, to the Clerk for filing.

DONE AND ORDERED at Tampa, Florida, this 14th day of November, 2012.

Copies to: All parties and Counsel of Record

2