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.)
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.
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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.
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KIMBERLY A. SWANK
LY
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United States Magistrate Judge
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Case 5:19-cv-00509-D Document 419 Filed 01/06/22 Page 2 of 2
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