Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC v. Atticus, LLC

Filing 419

ORDER granting #278 Motion to Seal. Signed by US Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Swank on 1/6/2022. (Sellers, N.)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA WESTERN DIVISION No. 5:19-CV-509-D SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION, LLC, Plaintiff, v. ATTICUS, LLC, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ORDER This matter is before the court on Plaintiff’s unopposed motion to seal portions of documents submitted in support of and in opposition to Defendant’s Eighth Motion to Compel Discovery. Plaintiff seeks to seal these filings on the ground they “contain sensitive business and technical information concerning Syngenta’s confidential communications with third parties, and Syngenta’s strategies on sales, marketing, generic competition, its patent portfolio, and evaluating potential illegal azoxystrobin products and potential infringement of and enforcement of its intellectual property.” (Mot. Seal [DE #278] at 1.) Where appropriate, Plaintiff has filed proposed redacted versions of the documents, omitting the portions it contends should not be available to the public. For the reasons set forth in Plaintiff’s motion and supporting memorandum, the court finds that the public’s common law right of access is outweighed by Plaintiff’s interests in protecting against competitive and/or financial harm to Plaintiff were such information made public. In re Knight Publ’g Co., 743 F.2d 231 Case 5:19-cv-00509-D Document 419 Filed 01/06/22 Page 1 of 2 (4th Cir. 1984). Public notice of Plaintiff’s request to seal and a reasonable opportunity to object have been provided by the filing of its motion, and no objections have been filed with the court. Plaintiff has narrowly tailored its request to remove only information that is sensitive and confidential and not otherwise publicly known. Plaintiff’s motion is therefore allowed. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s Motion to Seal [DE #278] is GRANTED, and the following documents shall be SEALED: a. Defendant’s Memorandum in Support of its Eighth Motion to Compel Discovery [DE #241]. A redacted version of this filing is available to the public on the court’s docket at DE #280-3]; b. Exhibits 1, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 to Declaration of Robert J. Scheffel in Support of Defendant’s Eighth Motion to Compel Discovery [DE ##243-2, 243-9, 243-10, 243-12, 243-13, 243-17, 243-18, 243-19, 24320, 243-21, 243-22, 243-23, 243-25, 243-26, 243-27, 243-28, 243-30, 24331, 243-32, 243-33, 243-34, 243-35, 243-36, 243-37, 243-38, 243-39, 24340]. Redacted versions of Exhibits 1, 8, 9, and 11 are available to the public on the court’s docket at DE ## 280-4, 280-5, 280-6, 280-7; and c. Plaintiff’s Response to Defendant’s Eighth Motion to Compel Discovery [DE #275]. A redacted version of this filing is available to the public on the court’s docket at DE #280-8. This 6th day of January 2022. __________________________________________ ______________________________ __ _ __ _ _ ___ __ KIMBERLY A. SWANK LY LY United States Magistrate Judge 2 Case 5:19-cv-00509-D Document 419 Filed 01/06/22 Page 2 of 2

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