Sewell et al v. Bad Boy Enterprises, LLC et al

Filing 86

ORDER granting 84 Motion to Seal Exhibit B to Textron Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by District Judge Keith Starrett on 9/29/2017 (dtj)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
WESTERN DIVISION
JOSEPH SEWELL and
DEBORAH NICOSIA
VS.

PLAINTIFFS
CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:16-cv-55 KS-MTP

BAD BOY ENTERPRISES, LLC,
CHARGING SYSTEMS, LLC,
ANDERSON POWER PRODUCTS, INC. and
JOHN DOES NO. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, & 20

DEFENDANTS

ORDER

Considering the foregoing Motion to Seal Exhibit B to Textron Inc.’s Motion for
Summary Judgment, and the Court having determined the following:


The document sought to be sealed is an Asset Purchase Agreement between Bad Boy
Enterprises, LLC and a BB Buggies, Inc., a subsidiary of Textron Inc., which contains
confidential and sensitive commercial information including, among other things, pricing
terms;



The Court has the authority to seal documents as it has supervisory power over its own
records and files, and the Asset Purchase Ageremenat at issue satisfies the criteria for
sealing because the document contains commercial secrets. See Seals v. Herzing Inc.New Orleans, 482 F. App'x 893, 896 (5th Cir. 2012) (upholding sealing of settlement
agreement, noting “every court has supervisory power over its own records and files”),
citing Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc., 435 U.S. 589 (1978); See also Seinbronn
v. Times Aerospace USA LLC, 2010 WL 8742283 (D.C.Super. 6/21/2010) (sealing
material containing commercial secrets); Littlejohn v. BIC Corp., 851 F.2d 673, 678 (3rd

Cir. 1988) (“courts may deny access to judicial records…where they are sources of
business information that might harm a litigant's competitive standing.”); and


Sealing is necessary to maintain the confidentiality of the Asset Purchase Agreement, as
there is no other procedure which would prevent its disclosure after its filing into the
record of this matter;
IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Seal Exhibit B to Textron Inc.’s Motion for

Summary Judgment is hereby granted, and the Clerk of Court is instructed to file the Asset
Purchase Agreement attached as Exhibit B to Textron Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment
under seal permanently, from public access only, with CM/ECF access permitted to the litigants
and litigants’ counsel.
SO ORDERED, this the __29th__ day of __September_________, 2017.

__s/Keith Starrett____________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE