Collegium Fund Series 32 v. Snyder et al
Filing
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ORDER. IT IS ORDERED that 40 the Stipulated Motion to File Under Seal is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. Plaintiff Collegium Fund shall have until 5/24/2017, to file a redacted version of its Response and exhibits on the public record consistent with this Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Peggy A. Leen on 5/17/17. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MR)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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COLLEGIUM FUND LLC, SERIES 32,
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Case No. 2:16-cv-01640-JCM-PAL
Plaintiff,
v.
ORDER
MARK DANIEL SNYDER, et al.,
(Stip to Seal – ECF No. 40)
Defendants.
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This matter is before the court on the parties’ Stipulated Motion to File Under Seal (ECF
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No. 40). This Motion is referred to the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A) and LR
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IB 1-3 of the Local Rules of Practice.
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As a general matter, there is a strong presumption of public access to judicial records.
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Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006). However, public
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“access to judicial records is not absolute.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178. The Ninth Circuit has
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held that the strong presumption of access to judicial records “applies fully to dispositive
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pleadings, including motions for summary judgment and related attachments.” Kamakana, 447
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F.3d at 1179. Thus, a movant must show “compelling reasons” to seal judicial records attached to
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a dispositive motion. Id. (citing Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1136 (9th
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Cir. 2003)). “Generally speaking, compelling reasons exist when court records ‘might have
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become a vehicle for improper purposes,’ such as to gratify private spite, promote public scandal,
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commit libel, or release trade secrets.” In re Roman Catholic Archbishop of Portland, 661 F.3d
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417, 429 (9th Cir. 2011) (citing Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 598 (1978)).
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When applying the compelling reasons standard, “a district court must weigh relevant factors, base
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its decision on a compelling reason, and articulate the factual basis for its ruling, without relying
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on hypothesis or conjecture.” Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 679 (9th Cir. 2010)
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(quoting Hagestad v. Tragesser, 49 F.3d 1430, 1434 (9th Cir. 1995)). “Relevant factors” include,
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but are not limited to, the “public interest in understanding the judicial process and whether
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disclosure of the material could result in improper use of the material for scandalous or libelous
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purposes or infringement upon trade secrets.” Id.; see also EEOC v. Erection Co., Inc., 900 F.2d
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168, 170 (9th Cir. 1990).
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Additionally, the Ninth Circuit has made clear that the sealing of entire documents is
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improper when any confidential information can be redacted while leaving meaningful information
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available to the public. See Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1137; In re Roman Catholic Archbishop, 661 F.3d
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at 425. To the extent that a sealing order is permitted, it must be narrowly tailored. See, e.g.,
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Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Ct. of Cal., Riverside Cnty., 464 U.S. 501, 512 (1984). The
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Supreme Court has instructed that a sealing order should be “limited to information that was
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actually sensitive,” that is only the parts of the material necessary to protect the compelling interest.
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Id. Thus, even when the court’s analysis weighs in favor of protection, “a court must still consider
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whether redacting portions of the discovery material will nevertheless allow disclosure.” In re
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Roman Catholic Archbishop, 661 F.3d at 425 (citing Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1136–37).
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Here, the parties have agreed to allow Plaintiff Collegium Fund LLC, Series 32
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(“Collegium Fund”) to file under seal its response, including exhibits, to Freddie Mac’s Motion
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for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 26). See Sealed Response (ECF No. 45). The unredacted
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Response attaches 29 exhibits, which total nearly 400 pages. The Stipulated Motion (ECF No. 40)
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states that Collegium Fund’s Response and related exhibits “contain or consist portions of the
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Master Commitment and Master Agreement between Wells Fargo and Freddie Mac” (“Master
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Agreement”) and these documents “contain confidential, proprietary, and commercially sensitive
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information related to Freddie Mac’s purchase of loans from Wells Fargo.” Id. at 2. However,
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the parties provided no justification for filing the entire Response and all of its 29 exhibits under
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seal. Most of the Response contains legal argument and statements of disputed and undisputed
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facts that do not involve the Master Agreement. The specific portions of the response and
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exhibit(s) related to the Master Agreement may be sealed but not all others. Collegium Fund shall
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file a redacted version of its Response and exhibits on the public record consistent with this Order.
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Accordingly,
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IT IS ORDERED:
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1. The Stipulated Motion to File Under Seal (ECF No. 40) is GRANTED IN PART AND
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DENIED IN PART.
2. Plaintiff Collegium Fund shall have until May 24, 2017, to file a redacted version of
its Response and exhibits on the public record consistent with this Order.
Dated this 17th day of May, 2017.
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PEGGY A. LEEN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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