Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC v. Atticus, LLC

Filing 438

ORDER granting #346 Motion to Seal; granting #350 Motion to Seal. Signed by US Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Swank on 1/11/2022. (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 the parties’ motions to seal portions of court
proceedings held July 28, 2021, and July 30, 2021. The parties seek to redact the
publicly available transcripts of the proceedings to remove confidential business and
technical information, including information concerning the identity of and
agreements with third-party manufacturers of azoxystrobin and confidential
communications and agreements with other entities, non-public legal matters, and
Plaintiff’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 (Pl.’s Mot. Seal [DE #346] at 1; Def.’s Mot.
Seal [DE #350] at 2.) The parties have filed proposed redacted versions of the
documents, omitting the portions each contends should not be available to the public.
For the reasons set forth in the parties’ motions and supporting memoranda,
the court finds that the public’s common law right of access is outweighed by the
interests of the parties and third-party manufacturers in protecting against
competitive and/or financial harm were such information made public. In re Knight

Case 5:19-cv-00509-D Document 438 Filed 01/11/22 Page 1 of 2

Publ’g Co., 743 F.2d 231 (4th Cir. 1984). Public notice of the parties’ requests to seal
and a reasonable opportunity to object have been provided by the filing of their
motions, and no objections have been filed with the court. Moreover, the parties have
narrowly tailored their requests to remove only information that is sensitive and
confidential and not otherwise publicly known. Accordingly, the motions to seal are
allowed.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Seal
[DE #346] and Defendant’s motion to seal [DE #350] and ORDERS as follows:
1.

The following filings shall be SEALED:

a.
Transcript of court proceedings held July 28, 2021
[DE #326] and the parties’ proposed redacted versions of the proceedings
[DE ##348, 351]; and
b.
Transcript of court proceedings held July 30, 2021
[DE #333] and the parties’ proposed redacted versions of the proceedings
[DE ## 349, 351-1];
2.

Within ten (10) days of the date this order is entered, the parties shall

prepare and file publicly available versions of the proceedings held July 28, 2021, and
July 30, 2021, redacting the sealed information.
3.

Upon the parties’ filing of the publicly available versions of the

proceedings, the clerk shall transmit copies to the court’s transcriber.
This 11th day of January 2022.
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KIMBERLY
KI
KIMBERLY A. SWANK
LY
LY
United States Magistrate Judge
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