Eshelman v. Auerbach et al

Filing 245

ORDER granting 230 Motion to Seal. Signed by Chief Judge James C. Dever III on 1/4/2018. (Briggeman, N.)

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTHERN DIVISION

FREDRIC N. ESHELMAN,

Plaintiff,
v.
PUMA BIOTECHNOLOGY, INC.

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Case No. 7:16-cv-00018-D

Defendant.
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ORDER
Before the Court is PlaintiffDr. Fredric N. Eshelman's Motion to Seal D.E. 199 [D.E. 230].
Defendant Puma Biotechnology, Inc. does not oppose this Motion. After considering the Motion,
Dr. Eshelman's arguments in D.E. 199-which were incorporated into D.E. 230, and other matters
of record, the Court concludes that the Motion is meii.torious and should be GRANTED.
The public has been given notice of Dr. Eshelman's Motion to Seal and had a reasonable
opportunity to challenge it. Although there is a strong presumption of public access to judicial
records, information can be sealed where there is a "compelling interest" to do so. Doe v. Pub.

Citizen, 749 F.3d 246, 269-70 (4th Cir. 2014). 'The privacy interest ofnon-parties are compelling
interests that justify sealing. See United States v. Smith, 776 F.2d 1104, 1112 (3d Cir. 1985)
(privacy interests of ,third-parties "overrid[e]" First Amendment's presumption of access);

Brigham Young Univ. v. Pfizer, Inc., 281 F.R.D. 507, 511-12 (D. Utah 2012) (even with judicial
documents, a court must '"balance the ... private interests of innocent third-parties"'); Nettles v.

Farmers Ins. Exch., No. C06-5164RJB, 2007 WL 858060, at *1-2 (W.D. Wash. Mar. 16, 2007)
(granting motions to seal with respect to employment information regarding third-parties). Any
challenge to Dr. Eshelman's Motion was not meritorious. Therefore, pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 26(c), Local rules 7.1 and 79.2, Section V(G) of the CM/ECF Policy Manual, and

this Court's Joint Stipulated Protective Order (D.E. 59), it is hereby ORDERED that:
1. Dr. Eshelman's Memorandum in Support of His Motion to Seal Two Pages of Sensitive
Testimony Regarding a Non-Party [D.E. 199] is hereby SEALED.
SO ORDERED, this~ day of January, 2018.