Harrington v. State of Nevada
Filing
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ORDER Regarding 82 Protective Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler on 10/16/2020. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - DRS)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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***
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Colleen Harrington,
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Case No. 2:18-cv-00009-APG-BNW
Plaintiff,
ORDER
v.
State of Nevada, et al.,
Defendants.
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Pending before the Court was a Stipulated Protective Order, which the Court approved to
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facilitate discovery in this case. This order reminds counsel that there is a presumption of public
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access to judicial files and records. A party seeking to file a confidential document under seal
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must file a motion to seal and must comply with the Ninth Circuit’s directives in Kamakana v.
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City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir. 2006).
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The Court has adopted electronic filing procedures. Attorneys must file documents under
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seal using the Court’s electronic filing procedures. See Local Rule IA 10-5. Papers filed with the
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Court under seal must be accompanied with a concurrently-filed motion for leave to file those
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documents under seal. See Local Rule IA 10-5(a).
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The Court has approved the blanket protective order to facilitate discovery exchanges. But
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there has been no showing, and the Court has not found, that any specific documents are
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secret or confidential. The parties have not provided specific facts supported by declarations or
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concrete examples to establish that a protective order is required to protect any specific trade
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secret or other confidential information pursuant to Rule 26(c) or that disclosure would cause an
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identifiable and significant harm. The Ninth Circuit has held that there is a presumption of public
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access to judicial files and records, and that parties seeking to maintain the confidentiality of
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documents attached to nondispositive motions must show good cause exists to overcome the
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presumption of public access. See Kamakana 447 F.3d at 1179. Parties seeking to maintain the
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secrecy of documents attached to dispositive motions must show compelling reasons sufficient to
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overcome the presumption of public access. Id. at 1180. All motions to seal must address the
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applicable standard and explain why that standard has been met. The fact that a court has
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entered a blanket stipulated protective order and that a party has designated a document as
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confidential pursuant to that protective order does not, standing alone, establish sufficient grounds
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to seal a filed document. See Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1133 (9th
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Cir. 2003); see also Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992).
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If the sole ground for a motion to seal is that the opposing party (or non-party) has
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designated a document as confidential, the designator shall file (within seven days of the filing of
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the motion to seal) either (1) a declaration establishing sufficient justification for sealing each
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document at issue or (2) a notice of withdrawal of the designation(s) and consent to unsealing. If
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neither filing is made, the Court may order the document(s) unsealed without further notice.
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IT IS ORDERED that counsel shall comply with the requirements of Local Rule IA 10-
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5, the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Kamakana, 447 F.3d 1172, and the procedures outlined above,
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with respect to any documents filed under seal. To the extent any aspect of the stipulated
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protective order may conflict with this order or Local Rule IA 10-5, that aspect of the stipulated
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protective order is hereby superseded with this order.
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DATED: October 16, 2020.
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BRENDA WEKSLER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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