Ilani et al v. Abraham et al

Filing 160

ORDER Granting 154 Plaintiff's Motion to File Under Seal Exhibit 2 to Status Report, and ORDER Granting 158 Plaintiff's Motion to File Under Seal Exhibit 38 to Amended Status Report. Signed by Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler on 6/30/2021. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - YAW)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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***

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Ezra Ilani, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,
ORDER

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Case No. 2:17-cv-00692-APG-BNW

v.
Simon S. Abraham, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Before the Court are two motions to seal. ECFs Nos. 154 and 158. Plaintiffs move to seal

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Exhibit 2 in ECF No. 154 and Exhibit 38 in ECF No. 158. Both exhibits were filed as attachments

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to status reports and contain similar information. See ECF Nos. 154, 158. These motions are

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unopposed, and Plaintiffs have satisfied the good cause requirement for sealing Exhibits 2 and 38.

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Accordingly, this Court grants Plaintiffs’ motions.

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I.

Legal Standard

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Generally, the public has a right to inspect and copy judicial records. Kamakana v. City &

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Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006). Such records are presumptively publicly

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accessible. Id. Consequently, a party seeking to seal a judicial record bears the burden of

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overcoming this strong presumption. Id.

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In the case of dispositive motions, the party seeking to seal the record must articulate

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compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings that outweigh the general history of

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access and the public policies favoring disclosure, such as the public interest in understanding the

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judicial process. Id. at 1178-79. The Ninth Circuit has further held that the full presumption of

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public access applies to technically non-dispositive motions and attached documents as well, as

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long as the motion is “more than tangentially related to the merits of the case.” Ctr. for Auto

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Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101 (9th Cir. 2016).
“Nondispositive motions ‘are often unrelated, or only tangentially related, to the

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underlying cause of action,’ and, as a result, the public’s interest in accessing dispositive

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materials does ‘not apply with equal force’ to nondispositive materials.” Pintos, 605 F.3d at 678

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(citing Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179). Given the “weaker public interest in nondispositive

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materials,” the court applies the good cause standard to evaluate whether to seal documents

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attached to a nondispositive motion that are unrelated or only tangentially related to the merits of

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the case. Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 678 (9th Cir. 2010).
Good cause requires a particularized showing that specific harm or prejudice will result if

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the information is disclosed. Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206,

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121011 (9th Cir. 2002). “Broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated by specific examples or

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articulated reasoning,” do not satisfy the good cause requirement under Rule 26(c). Beckman

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Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992) (quoting Cipollone v. Liggett Grp.,

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Inc., 785 F.2d 1108, 1121 (3d Cir. 1986)).

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II.

Plaintiffs’ Motions to Seal (ECFs Nos. 154 and 158)

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Here, Plaintiffs seek to seal Exhibits 2 and 38. The exhibits were attached to two

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nondispositive status reports and are unrelated to the merits of the case. Accordingly, the good

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cause standard applies to whether these documents should be sealed. Kamakana, 447 F.3d at

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1180.

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The two exhibits Plaintiffs seek to seal are lists of jewels and jewelry owned by Mr.

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Abraham. Plaintiffs argue that this information should be sealed because Mr. Abraham could be

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placed in danger if this information was publicly disclosed. Plaintiffs base their arguments on Mr.

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Abraham’s representations that, because of the type of assets he owns, he “has been robbed three

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times, the last time with a gun.” See Exhibit 14.

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Good cause exists to seal these documents. Mr. Abraham’s has represented multiple times

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throughout the course of this litigation that he has been robbed several times, including at

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gunpoint. The Court is persuaded that publicly disclosing his assets could expose him to further
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danger. There is also a diminished need for the public to access these documents because they are

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unrelated to the merits of the action. Accordingly, the Court will grant Plaintiffs’ motions to seal.

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ motion to seal ECF No. 154 is
GRANTED.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ motion to seal ECF No. 158 is GRANTED.

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DATED: June 30, 2021

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BRENDA WEKSLER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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