Allstate Insurance Company et al v. Balle et al

Filing 341

ORDER Granting in part Plaintiffs' 338 Motion to Seal. The 339 Un-Redacted Proposed Pretrial Order will remain under seal. The 340 Redacted Proposed Pretrial Order will be unsealed and filed in the public record. Signed by Judge Andrew P. Gordon on 11/19/2013. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLD)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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vs.

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PETER MARIO BALLE, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 2:10-cv-02205-APG-NJK
ORDER GRANTING IN PART
MOTION TO SEAL
(Docket No. 338)

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Pending before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to seal. Docket No. 338. The parties seek
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to file their proposed joint pre-trial order under seal.1 See Docket No. 339 (un-redacted pre-trial order);

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see also Docket No. 340 (redacted pre-trial order). Pursuant to the procedure outlined in Kamakana v.
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City & County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006), Plaintiffs submitted a declaration in
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support of the motion to seal. Docket No. 338-1. For the reasons discussed below, the Court hereby
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GRANTS the motion to seal.
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The parties represent that they believe that the protective order issued by this Court on June 13,
2011, Docket No. 51, is sufficient to allow filing portions of the pre-trial order under seal. Docket No.
338, at 2. The Court reminds the parties of the August 1, 2013, Order issued by this Court which
outlines the procedures that apply to any documents filed under seal in this case. See Docket No. 271.
All motions to seal must comply with that Order issued by the Court.

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I.

STANDARD

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The documents at issue in the motion to seal are all related to a non-dispositive motion. The

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Ninth Circuit has held that there is a presumption of public access to judicial files and records and that

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parties seeking to maintain the confidentiality of documents attached to non-dispositive motions must

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make a particularized showing of “good cause” to overcome the presumption of public access. See

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Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006). To the extent any

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confidential information can be easily redacted while leaving meaningful information available to the

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public, the Court must order that redacted versions be filed rather than sealing entire documents. Foltz

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v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1137 (9th Cir. 2003); see also Vaccine Ctr. LLC v.

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GlaxoSmithKline LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. Lexis 68298, *9-10 (D. Nev. May 14, 2013) (discussing

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redaction requirement).

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II.

ANALYSIS

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The information at issue in the pending motion to seal includes the underlying claimants’

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identification information, medical care and their individual confidential medical records. Docket No.

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338, at 4-5. The Court finds good cause exists to seal this information that overcomes the presumption

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of public access. However, as demonstrated by the redacted pre-trial order filed by the parties, that

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information can be , and was, easily redacted while leaving meaningful information available to the

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public.

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The parties have requested that the Court allow the parties to file under seal the portion of the

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joint pre-trial order that references the names of the underlying claimants and their addresses. The

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Court hereby grants that request.

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III.

CONCLUSION

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For good cause shown, Plaintiffs’ motion to seal, Docket No. 338, is hereby GRANTED.

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1.

The un-redacted proposed pre-trial order, Docket No. 339, will remain under seal.

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2.

The redacted proposed pre-trial order, Docket No. 340, will be unsealed and filed in the

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public record.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: November 19, 2013

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______________________________________
ANDREW P. GORDON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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