Monroe v. Forjas Taurus S.A., et al.

Filing 63

ORDER granting 58 Motion to Seal Document 57 PROPOSED SEALED Document. The parties' Joint Consent Motion to File Document Under Seal is GRANTED and the proposed Settlement Agreement and Release shall be placed in t he Court record under seal. The Court further ORDERS that any Orders and transcripts in connection with this Court's ruling on the parties' motion for Court-approval of the settlement agreement be sealed as well. Signed by District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan on 10/24/2019. (Collins, S.)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
WESTERN DNISION
CIVIL ACTION FILE NO .: 5-l 7-CV-604-FL
ST ACY MONROE, as Administrator for the
Estate of ERLINE FREEMAN,
Plaintiff,
V.

TAURUS HOLDINGS , INC ., and
TAURUS INTERNATIONAL
MANUFACTURING, INC .,
Defendants.

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ORDER GRANTING JOINT CONSENT MOTION
TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL
This matter is before the Court on the parties ' October 15, 2019 joint consent motion to
file a proposed Settlement Agreement and Release under seal as well as any Orders and
transcripts in connection with this Cou1t' s ruling on the pa1ties' contemporaneously filed motion
for Court approval of said settlement agreement. No member of the public has filed a response
or objection to the motion and this matter is now ripe for disposition .
Because the proposed settlement agreement involves a minor beneficiary, court approval
of the settlement is required pursuant to N .C.G.S. § 28A-13-3. The parties accordingly intend to
submit the proposed Settlement Agreement for the Court' s review in determining whether to
approve the settlement and also seek to file the document under seal to protect the minor
beneficiary' s privacy interests . The Court finds this request well-taken and, for the reasons set
forth below, grants the parties' motion .

In accordance with Stone v. Univ. of Maryland Med. Sys. Corp., 855 F.2d 178 (4th Cir.
1988) and In re Knight Pub . Co., 743 F.2d 23 1 (4th Cir. 1984), the Court has considered less
drastic alternatives to sealing the proposed Settlement Agreement and Release in its entirety and
finds that filing the document under seal is necessary and reasonably tailored to protect the
minor' s privacy interest as the identity of the minor cannot be reasonably protected otherwise.
The Court also finds that the minor' s privacy interest outweighs the general public' s common
law right of access to the proposed Settlement Agreement and Release. Further, the Court finds
that the government's compelling interest in protecting the minor's privacy outweighs any First
Amendment right ofaccess to the subject document.
Accordingly, the Court, having read and considered the parties ' joint consent motion to
file the proposed Settlement Agreement and Release under seal, and for good cause shown,
hereby ORDERS that the parties ' Joint Consent Motion to File Document Under Seal is
GRANTED and the proposed Settlement Agreement and Release shall be placed in the Court
record under seal. The Court further ORDERS that any Orders and transcripts in connection
with this Coutt' s ruling on the parties ' motion for Court-approval of the settlement agreement be
sealed as well .

24th

SO ORDERED, this the _ _ day ofOctober, 2019.

LOU ISE W. FLANAGAN
United States District Judge

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