Iacovacci v. Brevet Holdings, LLC et al

Filing 300

ORDER granting 288 Letter Motion to Seal. GRANTED. Plaintiff's request to seal Exhibit 1 to the Affirmation of Evelyn N. Fruchter is granted. Defendant does not oppose this request. [ECF No. 299]. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil on 5/9/2022) (tg)

Case 1:18-cv-08048-MKV Document 300 Filed 05/09/22 Page 1 of 2

55 BROADWAY, THIRD FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10006

May 3, 2022
By ECF
The Honorable Mary Kay Vyskocil
United States District Judge
Southern District of New York
500 Pearl Street, Room 2230
New York, NY 10007
Re:

USDC SDNY
DOCUMENT
ELECTRONICALLY FILED
DOC #:
DATE FILED: 5/9/2022

Iacovacci v. Brevet Holdings, LLC, et al., No. 1:18-cv-8048-MKV

Dear Judge Vyskocil:
We write on behalf of Plaintiff, Paul Iacovacci, to request the sealing of one exhibit submitted in
support of Plaintiff’s motion to exclude testimony and opinions of Defendants’ expert Sankara
Shanmugam. Exhibit 1 to the Affirmation of Evelyn N. Fruchter, dated May 3, 2022, is an
agreement between Complete Discovery Source (“CDS”) and certain counsel in this matter
(“Agreement”). The Agreement, which concerns the provision of forensic data services on the
Dell Optiplex computer, warrants sealing because it contains sensitive commercial and financial
information of a third party.
Documents containing confidential business information are routinely sealed. See News Corp. v.
CB Neptune Holdings, LLC, No. 21 CIV. 04610 (VSB), 2021 WL 3409663, at *2 (S.D.N.Y.
Aug. 4, 2021) (so-ordering request to seal certain agreements); Capri Sun GmbH v. Am.
Beverage Corp., 2021 WL 3036589, at *2-3 (S.D.N.Y. July 16, 2021) (so-ordering letter motion
requesting sealing or redaction of deposition transcripts containing information likely to cause
competitive harm if disclosed). Here, CDS specifically designated the agreement as confidential,
noting that the agreement and pricing information should be not be discussed or distributed
without its prior written consent.
Courts routinely find that documents containing pricing information satisfy the sealing standard.
Kewazinga Corp. v. Microsoft Corp., 2021 WL 1222122, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2021). This
practice acknowledges that “disclosure of the economic terms of the parties’ various licensing
and/or commercial agreements could disadvantage them in future negotiations with third parties
with respect to similar agreements. Regeneron Pharms., Inc. v. Novartis Pharma AG, No. 1:20CV-05502, 2021 WL 243943, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 25, 2021). The interest in protecting pricing
information is especially strong here since CDS is not a party to this action, and its pricing
information is not relevant to the Court’s ultimate determination here. See Pulse Elecs., Inc. v.
U.D. Elec. Corp., 530 F. Supp. 3d 988, 1031 (S.D. Cal. 2021) (ordering sealing of third-parties’
sensitive business information); Tourangeau v. Nappi Distribs., 2022 WL 768688, at *8 (D.
Maine Mar. 14, 2022) (“Third-party privacy interests ‘weigh heavily in a court’s balancing
equation.’”).

Case 1:18-cv-08048-MKV Document 300 Filed 05/09/22 Page 2 of 2

For these reasons, the Court should permit the Agreement to be filed under seal.

Sincerely,

Jason Cyrulnik
cc:

Counsel of Record (via ECF)

GRANTED. Plaintiff's request to seal Exhibit 1 to the Affirmation of
Evelyn N. Fruchter is granted. Defendant does not oppose this request.
[ECF No. 299]. SO ORDERED.
5/9/2022

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