Sleep Number Corporation v. Young et al

Filing 531

ORDER granting 473 Joint Motion Regarding Continued Sealing. Permanent Sealing GRANTED for Document Number(s): 386, 389-1, 390, 390-1, 390-2, 390-3, 390-4, 390-5, 399, 401, 404, 404-1, 404-2, 404-3, and 404-4.The Clerk's Office is directed to play Docket Entry 388-1 UNDER SEAL. Order on continued sealing becomes final on 8/30/2022 unless further timely submissions are filed. Signed by Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright on 8/2/2022. (SK)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Sleep Number Corporation,

Case No. 20-cv-01507 (NEB/ECW)

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

Steven Jay Young; Carl Hewitt; UDP
Labs, Inc., a Delaware corporation,
Defendants.
This matter is before the Court upon the parties’ Joint Motion Regarding
Continued Sealing (Dkt. 473) pursuant to Local Rule 5.6(d) concerning documents filed
under seal in conjunction with Plaintiff’s Motion for Temporary Restraining Order or, In
the Alternative, to Modify the Preliminary Injunction Order (Dkt. 384).
With respect to Docket Entries 386, 389-1, 390, 390-1, 390-2, 390-3, 390-4, 3905, 399, 401, 404, 404-1, 404-2, 404-3, and 404-4, the parties agree or do not object to the
continued sealing of these documents based on claims that they contain the parties’
confidential and trade secret information that is commercially and competitively sensitive
business information. Based on these representations and the Court’s review of the
documents, the Court concludes that the need to maintain the information in above entries
under seal outweighs the public’s right of access. See L. R. D. Minn. 5.6(d) advisory
committee’s note; IDT Corp. v. eBay, 709 F.3d 1220, 1224 (8th Cir. 2013). Nothing in
this Court’s sealing orders should be interpreted as a determination that any information
identified as trade secret by a party is or is not a trade secret.

The parties disagree with respect to the sealing of Docket Entry 388-1. This entry
was filed publicly by Plaintiff. Defendants seek to seal the document, as part of the email
chain contains discussions of settlement between the parties protected by Rule 408 of the
Federal Rules of Evidence. (Dkt. 473 at 2-3.) Plaintiff counters that document was not
designated as confidential, and that no specific settlement terms were discussed—only a
general desire for settlement. (Id. at 3.) Rule 408 bars the admission of evidence of
“furnishing, promising, or offering—or accepting, promising to accept, or offering to
accept—a valuable consideration in compromising or attempting to compromise [a
disputed] claim” and “conduct or a statement made during compromise negotiations
about the claim.” Fed. R. Evid. 408(a)(1), (2). However, the Rule 408 speaks to
admissibility and not confidentiality. While the Court acknowledges an interest in
keeping settlement negotiations confidential in order to encourage settlement, such an
interest may be outweighed by the public’s interest in accessing court records. See
Sasson v. Hachette Filipacchi Presse, No. 15-CV-00194 (VM) (SN), 2016 WL 1599492,
at *7 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 20, 2016) (noting that the public’s First Amendment presumption of
access may be outweighed by the interest in keeping settlement negotiations
confidential). While specific terms were not disclosed in Docket Entry 388-1, there were
possible general settlement scenarios listed by Defendants. As such, the Court finds that
the interest of encouraging frank settlement communications outweighs the public’s
interest in accessing this information at this stage of the case. As such, the Court will
seal Docket Entry 388-1.

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ORDER
Based upon on the motion and the documents filed under seal, as well as all the
files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1.

The parties’ Joint Motion Regarding Continuing Sealing (Dkt. 473) is

GRANTED.
2.

Docket Entries 386, 389-1, 390, 390-1, 390-2, 390-3, 390-4, 390-5, 399,

401, 404, 404-1, 404-2, 404-3, and 404-4 will remain SEALED.
3.

The Clerk’s Office is directed to play Docket Entry 388-1 UNDER SEAL.

DATED: August 2, 2022

s/Elizabeth Cowan Wright
ELIZABETH COWAN WRIGHT
United States Magistrate Judge

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