Seguin v. Textron, Inc. et al

Filing 196

ORDER granting #94 MOTION to Seal Documents: Unredacted Copy of Memorandum of Law in Support of #92 Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint, and the Unredacted Copy of Exhibit 2 in Support of the Memorandum. So Ordered by Judge Steven J McAuliffe (NH) on 4/25/2014. (Note: A copy of this Order was forwarded to Mary Seguin on 4/29/2014 via first-class mail to the last-known Texas and Canada addresses provided to the court by Ms. Seguin.) (Duhamel, John)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND
Mary Seguin
v.

Case No. 13-cv-12-SJM-LM
Opinion No. 2014 DNH 090

Textron, Inc., et al.
O R D E R
Before the court is a motion (doc. no. 94), filed by
defendant Adler, Pollock & Sheehan, P.C. (“AP&S”), seeking to
seal the terms of a settlement agreement between Textron, Inc.
(“Textron”) and plaintiff Mary Seguin - a former Textron employee
- and also seeking to seal the unredacted memorandum of law
disclosing those terms, filed by AP&S in support of its motion to
dismiss.

No objection has been filed.

“Placing court records out of public sight is a serious
step, which should be undertaken only rarely and for good cause.”
R & G Mortgage Corp. v. Fed. Home Loan Mortgage Corp., 584 F.3d
1, 12 (1st Cir. 2009).

“[T]he presumption in favor of access to

judicial records may be overcome where ‘countervailing interests
heavily outweigh the public interests in access.’

The burden is

on the party seeking to restrict access to show “some significant
interest that outweighs the presumption.’”

Colony Ins. Co. v.

Burke, 698 F.3d 1222, 1241 (10th Cir. 2012) (citations omitted).
The settlement agreement at issue includes a confidentiality
provision.

The systemic interest in avoiding disincentives to

settlements favors an order granting the motion to seal, as

denying the motion and disclosing the relevant terms could deter
parties from settling claims in the future.
For good cause shown, the motion to seal (doc. no. 94) is
granted.

Pending further order of this court, and in accordance

with LR Gen 102(c), the clerk is directed to maintain in a secure
location both the settlement agreement and the unredacted
memorandum of law at issue.

The documents may be unsealed only

as set forth in LR Gen 102(e).

SO ORDERED.
____________________________
Steven J. McAuliffe
United States District Judge
April 25, 2014
cc:

Mary Seguin, pro se
Rebecca T. Partington, Esq.
Susan E. Urso, Esq.
Mark W. Freel, Esq.
Joseph Avanzato, Esq.
Leslie D. Parker, Esq.
Gordon P. Cleary, Esq.

SJM:nmd

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