Nock v. PalmCo Administration, LLC et al
Filing
76
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER denying 69 Defendants' Motion to Seal Memorandum in Support of Motion to Bifurcate Discovery; directing that Defendants shall, within 7 days of the entry of this Order, file a redacted version of ecf 68 on the public docket; denying as moot 71 Plaintiff's Request to Lodge Exhibits Under Seal; granting 74 Plaintiff's Amended Request to Lodge Exhibits Under Seal. Signed by Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson on 1/29/2025. (bg3s, Deputy Clerk)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
ROBERT NOCK, on behalf of himself and
others similarly situated,
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Plaintiff,
v.
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PALMCO ADMINISTRATION, LLC, et al.,
Defendants.
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Civil Case No. 24-cv-00662-RDB
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MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ADDRESSING
THE PARTIES’ MOTIONS TO SEAL (ECF NOS. 69, 71, & 74)
Plaintiff, Robert Nock, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed the
present lawsuit against Defendants, PalmCo Administration, LLC, PalmCo Power MD, LLC, and
PalmCo Energy MD, LLC, alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47
U.S.C. § 227, et seq. as well as the Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Md. Com. Law
§ 14-3201, et seq. (ECF No. 1). Currently before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Seal
Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of Motion to Bifurcate Discovery, (ECF No. 69), Plaintiff’s
Request to Lodge Exhibits Under Seal, (ECF No. 71), and Plaintiff’s Amended Request to Lodge
Exhibits Under Seal (ECF No. 74). The issues have been fully briefed and no hearing is necessary.
See Loc. R. 105.6 (D. Md. 2023). For the reasons set forth below, the Court shall DENY
Defendants’ Motion, (ECF No. 69), and GRANT Plaintiff’s Amended Motion (ECF No. 74).
Because Plaintiff’s Amended Motion shall be granted, Plaintiff’s earlier Motion, (ECF No. 71),
shall be DENIED as moot.
I.
LEGAL STANDARD
A district court may only “seal documents if the public’s right of access is outweighed by
competing interests,” and “the ‘presumption’ in such cases favors public access.” Ashcraft v.
Conoco, Inc., 218 F.3d 288, 302 (4th Cir. 2000) (quoting In re Knight Publ’g Co., 743 F.2d 231,
235 (4th Cir. 1988)). Accordingly:
Before a district court may seal any court documents…it must (1) provide public
notice of the request to seal and allow interested parties a reasonable opportunity to
object, (2) consider less drastic alternatives to sealing the documents, and (3)
provide specific reasons and factual findings supporting its decision to seal the
documents and for rejecting the alternatives.
Id. (first citing Knight, 743 F.2d at 235-36; then citing Stone v. Univ. of Md. Med. Sys. Corp., 855
F.2d 178, 181 (4th Cir. 1988)). This procedure “must be followed when a district court seals
judicial records or documents.” Id. (emphasis added) (quoting Stone, 855 F.2d at 179-80, 182). A
motion to seal must also comply with Local Rule 105.11, which provides:
Any motion seeking the sealing of pleadings, motions, exhibits, or other documents
to be filed in the Court record shall include (a) proposed reasons supported by
specific factual representations to justify the sealing and (b) an explanation why
alternatives to sealing would not provide sufficient protection. The Court will not
rule upon the motion until at least fourteen (14) days after it is entered on the public
docket to permit the filing of objections by interested parties. Materials that are the
subject of the motion shall remain temporarily sealed pending a ruling by the Court.
If the motion is denied, the party making the filing will be given an opportunity to
withdraw the materials. Upon termination of the action, sealed materials will be
disposed of in accordance with L.R. 113.
Loc. R. 105.11 (D. Md. 2023).
II.
ANALYSIS
As an initial matter, the Court finds that the parties’ filings comply with the Local Rules.
The motions propose reasoning to support sealing and an explanation of why redaction is not
sufficient protection. More than fourteen days have passed since the motions have been entered on
the public docket, and no objections have been filed by any interested party. Thus, the Court may
now issue its ruling consistent with Local Rule 105.11.
Defendants move to seal their Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Bifurcate
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Discovery on the grounds that the brief inadvertently contains Plaintiff Robert Nock’s complete
landline and mobile telephone numbers. (ECF No. 69 at 2). 1 Defendants explain that Nock has
designated this information as confidential, and, pursuant to the parties’ Stipulated Protective
Order, (ECF Nos. 41, 44), documents containing designated confidential materials must be filed
under seal. (ECF No. 69 at 1). The undersigned has reviewed Defendants’ memorandum and
believes that Nock’s personal information will be sufficiently shielded through redaction. The
phone numbers appear only three times in the memorandum and may be easily redacted. Such
redaction will prevent the disclosure of Nock’s private telephone numbers, which could lead to
privacy violations if exposed, while preserving the public’s right of access to judicial records.
Defendants’ Motion to Seal will therefore be denied, and Defendants will be directed to file a
version of the memorandum on the public docket with the last four digits of Nock’s phone numbers
redacted.
Turning next to Plaintiff’s motions, Plaintiff seeks to lodge under seal certain exhibits
attached to his opposition to Defendant’s motion to bifurcate discovery. (ECF No. 74).
Specifically, Plaintiff requests that the following exhibits be sealed: (1) Exhibit 7 to the Cleckley
Deposition, which includes an Excel attachment containing records of consumers enrolled with
Defendants, including consumers’ names, addresses, and utility account numbers; (2) Nock’s
Xfinity call records, which contain numerous telephone numbers of third parties; (3) Neil St.
Louis’s (NSL) call recordings, which include discussions of third party names, addresses, utility
account numbers, and telephone numbers; (4) Nock’s Production Indexes, which contain the
private telephone numbers of Nock and third parties; and (5) Nock’s cellular telephone call
records, which contain numerous telephone numbers of third parties. (ECF No. 74 at 1-3). Plaintiff
When the Court cites to a particular page number or range, the Court is referring to the page numbers located in the
electronic filing stamps provided at the top of each electronically filed document.
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argues that each of these exhibits contains sensitive information, and that lodging the exhibits is
necessary because the file formats (e.g., voluminous excel documents and mp3 files) cannot be
submitted via ECF.
Based on an independent review of the referenced exhibits, the Court agrees that they
contain identifying personal information of third parties which warrants sealing. Disclosure of this
information could lead to privacy violations for individuals not involved in this lawsuit. Further,
redacting portions of the documents will not provide sufficient protection because the records are
almost entirely comprised of third-party phone numbers, addresses, and names (and, in the case of
the mp3 files, traditional redaction is impracticable). See Glisson v. Hooks, No. 1:19-cv-00096MOC, 2019 WL 2366470, at *3 (W.D.N.C. June 4, 2019) (“Redaction is not an appropriate
alternative, as it likely would require blacking out most of the report.”). The Court therefore
concludes that the risk of public disclosure of such information outweighs the presumption of open
access to court records and Plaintiff’s Amended Request to Lodge Exhibits Under Seal will be
granted.
III.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, it is this 29th day of January, 2025, by the United States District Court for the
District of Maryland, ORDERED that:
1) Defendants’ Motion to Seal Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of Motion to Bifurcate
Discovery (ECF No. 69) is DENIED; and
2) Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of Motion to Bifurcate Discovery (ECF No. 68) shall
remain sealed; and
3) Defendants shall, within seven (7) days of the entry of this Order, file a redacted version
of ECF No. 68 on the public docket; and
4) Plaintiff’s Amended Request to Lodge Exhibits Under Seal (ECF No. 74) is GRANTED;
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and
5) Plaintiff’s Request to Lodge Exhibits Under Seal (ECF No. 71) is DENIED as moot.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
/s/
J. Mark Coulson
United States Magistrate Judge
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