Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC v. Atticus, LLC

Filing 439

ORDER granting #361 Motion to Seal Document; granting #369 Motion to Seal Document. 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 the
court’s September 15, 2021, order disposing of various discovery motions. The parties
seek to seal the order on the grounds it contains confidential business and technical
information, including information concerning the identity of a third-party
manufacturer of azoxystrobin and its business relationship with Defendant, nonpublic legal matters, and Plaintiff’s strategies on 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 #361]
at 1; Def.’s Mot. Seal [DE #369] at 1-2.) The parties have filed proposed redacted
versions of the order, 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

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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 #361] and Defendant’s motion to seal [DE #369]. The order entered by the court
on September 15, 2021 [DE #356] and Defendant’s proposed redacted version thereof
[DE #370] shall be SEALED. A redacted version of the order is available to the public
on the court’s docket at DE #362-3.
This 11th day of January 2022.
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KIMBERLY A. SWANK
LY
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United States Magistrate Judge

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