Gant v. Williams et al

Filing 40

ORDER Granting 39 Motion to Seal 36 and 38 Summons Issued. Signed by Magistrate Judge Cam Ferenbach on 4/20/17. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MMM)

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ADAM PAUL LAXALT
Attorney General
TIFFANY E. BREINIG (Bar No. 9984)
Deputy Attorney General
State of Nevada
Office of the Attorney General
555 East Washington Ave., #3900
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
[phone] (phone)
[phone] (fax)
E-mail: [e-mail]
Attorneys for Sean Bloomfield,
Tasheena Sandoval, Harold Byrne,
Paul Hunt, Douglas Thrasher,
Brian Williams, and Michael Pichardo

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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LEMAR GANT,

Case No. 2:16-cv-00011-JAD-VCF

Plaintiff,

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vs.

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BRIAN WILLIAMS, et al.,

MOTION TO SEAL ECF NO. 36 AND
ECF NO. 38 IN ACCORDANCE WITH
COURT ORDER (ECF NO. 11)

Defendants.

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Defendants Sean Bloomfield, Tasheena Sandoval, Harold Byrne, Paul Hunt,

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Douglas Thrasher, Brian Williams, and Michael Pichardo, by and through counsel, Adam

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Paul Laxalt, Attorney General of the State of Nevada, and Tiffany E. Breinig, Deputy

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Attorney General, hereby move to seal ECF No. 36 and ECF No. 38 in accordance with

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this Court’s Order (ECF No. 11) on December 12, 2016. This motion is based on the

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following memorandum of points and authorities and all other papers and pleadings filed

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in this action.

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Page 1 of 5

MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

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I.

INTRODUCTION

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This is a civil rights action initiated on July 20, 2016, by Plaintiff LeMar Gant, an

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inmate currently incarcerated with the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) and

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housed at Southern Desert Correctional Center.

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On December 12, 2016, this Court ordered the Office of the Attorney General to

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“file a notice advising the Court and Plaintiff of: (a) the names of the defendants for whom

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it accepts service; (b) the names of the defendants for whom it does not accept service, and

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(c) the names of the defendants for whom it is filing the last-known address information

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under seal.” ECF No. 11 at 2. The Court further ordered the Office of the Attorney

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General to file, under seal, but “not serve the inmate Plaintiff the last known address(es)

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of those defendant(s) for whom” it does not accept service. Id.

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On December 29, 2016, Defendants filed the last known address of Defendant Eric

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Brcic, who is a former NDOC employee, under seal. ECF No. 13. Defendants also filed a

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Notice of Under Seal Submission of Last Known Address, informing Plaintiff that

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Defendant Brcic’s last known address was filed under seal with the Court. ECF No. 14.

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On April 12, 2017, Defendants filed the last known address of Defendant Darnell

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Johnson, who is a former NDOC employee, under seal. ECF No. 33. Defendants also filed

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a Notice of Under Seal Submission of Last Known Address, informing Plaintiff that

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Defendant Johnson’s last known address was filed under seal with the Court. ECF No.

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34.

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On April 12, 2017, a summons was issued for Defendant Brcic. ECF No. 36.

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On April 18, 2017, a summons was issued for Defendant Johnson. ECF No. 38.

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Defendants now move to have ECF Nos. 36 and 38 sealed because they contain the

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last known addresses of former NDOC employees who have been named defendants in

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the above-titled action.

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Page 2 of 5

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II.

LEGAL ARGUMENT

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Courts have recognized a general right of the public to inspect and copy public

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records and documents, including judicial records and documents. Kamakana v. City &

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Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006). A party seeking to seal court

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records “must articulate compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings that

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outweigh the general history of access and the public policies favoring disclosure. Id.

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(internal quotation marks omitted).

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The summonses issued for Defendants Brcic and Johnson include the last known

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addresses of both these defendants, rather than indicating the same have been filed

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under seal with this Court. See ECF Nos. 36 and 38. This Court’s Order specifically

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instructed last known addresses of defendants to be filed under seal and to “not serve the

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inmate Plaintiff” with such information. ECF No. 11 at 2. Therefore, Defendants now

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move to have these documents sealed in order to remove the Defendants’ personal

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information from public record.

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Further, since the issued summonses were filed in this case, it is presumed that a

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copy of the same was mailed to Plaintiff. To the extent that this Court has not yet mailed

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a copy of ECF Nos. 36 and 38 to Plaintiff, Defendants respectfully request this Court

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consider the privacy of the Defendants and the intent behind this Court’s Order (ECF No.

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11) to not provide Plaintiff access to such confidential information, and not mail either

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document to Plaintiff without first removing the last known address information.

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III.

CONCLUSION

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Despite being filed under seal, the last known addresses of Defendants Brcic and

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Johnson were publicly disclosed when the summonses were issued. Defendants

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Page 3 of 5

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respectfully request this Court grant Defendant’s Motion to Seal ECF No. 36 and ECF

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No. 38 in order to protect the confidentiality of Defendants Brcic and Johnson.

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DATED this 20th day of April, 2017.

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ADAM PAUL LAXALT
Attorney General

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By: /s/ Tiffany E. Breinig
TIFFANY E. BREINIG (Bar No. 9984)
Deputy Attorney General
Attorneys for Defendants

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4-20-2017

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Page 4 of 5

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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I certify that I am an employee of the State of Nevada, Office of the Attorney

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General, and that on April 20, 2017, I electronically filed the foregoing MOTION TO

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SEAL ECF NO. 36 AND ECF NO. 38 IN ACCORDANCE WITH COURT ORDER

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(ECF NO. 11) via this Court’s electronic filing system. Parties who are registered with

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this Court’s electronic filing system will be served electronically. For those parties not

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registered, service was made by depositing a copy for mailing in the United States Mail,

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first-class postage prepaid, at Las Vegas, Nevada, addressed to the following:

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LeMar Gant, #49097
Southern Desert Correctional Center
P.O. Box 208
Indian Springs, Nevada 89070
Plaintiff, Pro Se

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/s/ Carol A. Knight
CAROL A. KNIGHT, an employee of the
Office of the Nevada Attorney General

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