Thompson et al v Autoliv Safety Technology Inc et al

Filing 356

ORDER Denying without prejudice 345 TRW Automotive U.S. LLC's Motion for Leave to Seal 344 Exhibit. TRW shall have until 11/28/2014, to file a memorandum of points and authorities. Exhibit A 44 shall remain under seal until 11/28/2014 . If TRW fails to timely comply with this order, the Clerk of the Court is directed to unseal the documents to make them available on the public docket. Signed by Magistrate Judge Peggy A. Leen on 11/13/2014. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - EDS)

1
2
3
4

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

5

DISTRICT OF NEVADA

6

***

7

NICOLE THOMPSON, et al.,

8
9
10
11
12

Case No. 2:09-cv-01375-JAD-PAL
Plaintiffs,

v.

ORDER
(Mtn to Seal – Dkt. #345)

AUTOLIV SAFETY TECHNOLOGY, INC., et
al.,
Defendants.

13

This matter is before the court on Defendant TRW Automotive U.S. LLC’s (“TRW”)

14

Motion for Leave to File Under Seal (Dkt. #345). No response to the Motion was filed, and the

15

time for filing one has now run. The court has considered the Motion.

16

TRW seeks an order pursuant to Local Rule 10-5(b) permitting it to file Exhibit A to its

17

Response to Plaintiff Nicole Thompson’s Motion to Amend to Include Interest (Dkt. #343).

18

TRW asserts Exhibit A should be sealed because it contains confidential settlement information.

19

Because the Motion to Amend to Include Interest is a dispositive motion, TRW must

20

show that compelling reasons to seal Exhibit A. TRW’s conclusory statement that Exhibit A

21

“contains confidential settlement information” is insufficient to meet its burden of making a

22

particularized showing of compelling reasons to support sealing the documents. See Kamakana

23

v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir. 2006). A party’s burden to show

24

compelling reasons for sealing is not met by general assertions that the information is

25

confidential; instead, the movant must “articulate compelling reasons supported by specific

26

factual findings. Id. at 1178. The Ninth Circuit has expressly rejected efforts to seal documents

27

under the “compelling reasons” standard where the movant makes “conclusory statements about

28

the contents of the documents–that they are confidential and that, in general,” their disclosure

1

would be harmful to the movant. Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1182; see also Vaccine Ctr. LLC v.

2

GlaxoSmithKline LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist Lexis 68298, *5-6 (D. Nev. May 14, 2013) (finding

3

general assertions regarding confidential nature of documents insufficient). Such “conclusory

4

offerings do not rise to the level of ‘compelling reasons’ sufficiently specific to bar the public

5

access to the documents.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1182. Moreover, the movant must make that

6

required particularized showing for each document that it seeks to seal. See, e.g., San Jose

7

Mercury News, Inc. v. U.S. Dist. Court, 187 F.3d 1096, 1103 (9th Cir. 1999). TRW has not met

8

this burden. It has not provided any specific facts, supported by affidavits or concrete examples,

9

to show any specific confidential information should remain under seal or establish that

10

disclosure of the information would cause an identifiable and significant harm. In allowing the

11

sealing of a document, the court must “articulate the basis for its ruling, without relying on

12

hypothesis and conjecture.” See, e.g., Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 679

13

(quoting Hagestad v. Tragesser, 49 F.3d 1430, 1434 (9th Cir. 1995)). TRW’s conclusory

14

assertion does not allow the court to make such a ruling.

15

For the foregoing reasons,

16

IT IS ORDERED:

17

1. Defendant TRW Automotive U.S. LLC’s Motion to Seal (Dkt. #345) is DENIED

18

WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

19

2. TRW shall have until November 28, 2014, to file a memorandum of points and

20

authorities to make the required particularized showing of compelling reasons file

21

Exhibit A under seal.

22

3. Exhibit A (Dkt. #344) shall remain under seal until November 28, 2014. If TRW

23

fails to timely comply with this order, the Clerk of the Court is directed to unseal the

24

documents to make them available on the public docket.

25

Dated this 13th day of November, 2014.

26
____________________________________
PEGGY A. LEEN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

27
28

-2-