Functional Pathways of Tennessee, Inc v. Wilson Senior Care, Inc et al

Filing 85

ORDER granting 83 Motion to Seal Document on a temporary basis. Should no objections be filed by 1/13/2014, the temporary order will automatically convert to a permanent order to seal. Signed by the Honorable R Bryan Harwell on 1/6/2014. (hcic, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
FLORENCE DIVISION
FUNCTIONAL PATHWAYS OF
TENNESSEE, LLC,

)
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
WILSON SENIOR CARE, INC.,
)
f/k/a THE WILSON GROUP, INC., )
)
Defendant.
)
)

Civil Action No.: 4:12-cv-00922-RBH

ORDER

This matter comes before the Court on the motion of Plaintiff Functional Pathways of
Tennessee, LLC to file certain exhibits in support of its motion for partial summary judgment under
seal. ECF No. 83. The Court has reviewed the filings submitted on this matter. In accordance with
In re Knight Publishing Company, 743 F.2d 231 (4th Cir. 1984), the Court grants the motion to seal
on a temporary basis. Because In re Knight requires the Court to provide public notice of a party’s
request to seal and allow interested parties an opportunity to object, this order temporarily grants the
motion to seal until January 13, 2014. If in the interim period any interested party wishes to object
to the permanent sealing of the documents at issue, that party may file a notice of appearance and
state its objections. In the event any objections are filed, the Court will schedule a hearing on the
motion to seal and hear the arguments of all parties. Should no objections be filed by January 13,
2014, the temporary order will automatically convert to a permanent order to seal.
The Court considered less drastic alternatives to sealing the requested documents. The Court
finds that less drastic alternatives are not appropriate in this case, as the documents concern
confidential financial information.

The Court finds persuasive the arguments of counsel in favor of sealing the documents and
rejecting the alternatives. The documents contain confidential financial information. The Court
notes that the litigants’ interest in nondisclosure of such proprietary information outweighs the
public’s right to access to these documents. See May v. Medtronic Inc., No. CA 6:05-794-HMH,
2006 WL 1328765, *1 (D.S.C. May 15, 2006). The confidential and sensitive nature of the
information in the documents at issue requires that the documents be sealed. Therefore, the Court
GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion to seal (ECF No. 83) in accordance with the limitations stated herein.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ R. Bryan Harwell
R. Bryan Harwell
United States District Judge
Florence, South Carolina
January 6, 2014

2