Agostinis v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company

Filing 12

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 11 Defendant's Unopposed Motion for Extension to File Administrative Record and to Permit Filing of Unredacted Administrative Record on CD Under Seal. On or before January 12, 2018, Defendant is directed to submit to the Clerk or file the administrative record, as detailed in the Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Julie S. Sneed on 12/8/2017. (SMC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
KAREN AGOSTINIS,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 8:17-cv-1723-T-30JSS

THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.
___________________________________/
ORDER
THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendant’s Unopposed Motion for Extension to
File Administrative Record and to Permit Filing of Unredacted Administrative Record on CD
Under Seal (“Motion”). (Dkt. 11.)

Defendant moves for an extension of time to file its

administrative record under seal, without redactions. (Dkt. 11.) In accordance with the Court’s
ERISA Case Management and Scheduling Order, Defendant is compiling an administrative record
to be filed by December 11, 2017. (See Dkt. 10.) Defendant contends that the administrative
record contains 1,255 pages of documents, many of which contain confidential and sensitive
financial, medical, and personally identifying information of Plaintiff. (Dkt. 11 at 2.) Defendant
requests an extension through December 22, 2017 to file its un-redacted administrative record
under seal. (Dkt. 11 at 2.) Defendant asserts that it will provide Plaintiff with a complete, unredacted copy of the non-privileged portions of the administrative record and a privilege log of
documents withheld from production. (Dkt. 11 at 2.) In the alternative, Defendant requests an
extension through January 12, 2018 to fully redact the administrative record for filing. (Dkt. 11 at
3.) Plaintiff does not oppose the requested relief. (Dkt. 11 at 3.)

Under Middle District of Florida Local Rule 1.09, a party seeking to file any paper or other
matter under seal must: (1) identify and describe each item proposed for sealing; (2) state the
reason that filing each item is necessary; (3) state the reason that sealing each item is necessary;
(4) state the reason that a means other than sealing is unavailable or unsatisfactory to preserve the
interest advanced by the movant in support of the seal; (5) state the proposed duration of the seal;
and (6) provide a memorandum of legal authority supporting the seal. M.D. Fla. Local R. 1.09(a).
No order sealing any item shall extend beyond one year, but a seal may be renewed upon filing a
proper motion. M.D. Fla. Local R. 1.09(c).
Additionally, because “[t]he operations of the courts and the judicial conduct of judges are
matters of utmost public concern,” “[m]aterial filed in connection with any substantive pretrial
motion, unrelated to discovery, is subject to the common law right of access,” which includes the
right to inspect and copy public records and documents. Romero v. Drummond Co., 480 F.3d
1234, 1245 (11th Cir. 2007). However, “[t]his right of access is not absolute” and “may be
overcome by a showing of good cause,” taking into consideration the public interest in accessing
court documents and the party’s interest in keeping the information confidential. Id. at 1245–46.
In particular, “[a] party’s privacy or proprietary interest in information sometimes overcomes the
interest of the public in accessing the information.” Id. at 1246.
Upon consideration, the Court finds that Defendant has shown good cause concerning why
portions of the administrative record should be filed under seal. Specifically, the items to be sealed
are described in the Motion, and Defendant has adequately explained why portions of the
administrative record must be filed under seal, as they contain confidential and sensitive financial
or medical information related to Plaintiff.

See Barkley v. Pizza Hut of Am., Inc., No.

614CV376ORL37DAB, 2015 WL 5915817, at *3 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 8, 2015) (granting a motion to

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file under seal documents that contained confidential information regarding the party’s business
operations and confidential and competitively sensitive information); Local Access, LLC v.
Peerless Network, Inc., No. 614CV399ORL40TBS, 2015 WL 5897743, at *1 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 7,
2015) (“A party’s interest in the privacy of its financial records and the terms of confidential
agreements oftentimes outweighs the public’s right of access.”); Clark v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of
Am., 3:14-CV-1037-J-34PDB, 2014 WL 12609869, at *1–2 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 16, 2014) (granting
motion to file administrative record under seal because allowing public access to the personal
information in the file would harm plaintiff’s privacy interests). However, Defendant has not
shown good cause to file the entire administrative record under seal. Defendant represents that
not every page of the 1,255 administrative record contains confidential and sensitive information.
(Dkt. 11 at 2.) A court has discretion to determine which parts of the record should be sealed, but
its discretion is guided by the presumption of public access. Perez-Guerrero v. U.S. Attorney
General, 717 F.3d 1224, 1235 (11th Cir. 2013). Accordingly, it is
ORDERED:
1. Defendant’s Unopposed Motion for Extension to File Administrative Record and to Permit
Filing of Unredacted Administrative Record on CD Under Seal (Dkt. 11) is GRANTED
in part and DENIED in part.
2. On or before January 12, 2018, Defendant is directed to submit to the Clerk, and the Clerk
is directed to accept under seal, those portions of the administrative record that contain
confidential and sensitive financial or medical information related to Plaintiff. Those
portions of the administrative record shall remain under seal for a period not to exceed one
(1) year. See M.D. Fla. Local R. 1.09(c).

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3. Defendant is directed to file the remaining portions of the administrative record that do not
contain confidential and sensitive financial or medical information related to Plaintiff on
or before January 12, 2018.
DONE and ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, on December 8, 2017.

Copies furnished to:
Counsel of Record

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