Gordon v. Virtumundo Inc et al

Filing 86

MOTION for Leave to File Under Seal a Motion to Compel Discovery by Defendants Virtumundo Inc, Adknowledge Inc. Noting Date 1/26/2007. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order Granting Leave to File Motion and Declaration Under Seal)(Newman, Derek)

Gordon v. Virtumundo Inc et al

Doc. 86

Case 2:06-cv-00204-JCC

Document 86

Filed 01/11/2007

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 v. VIRTUMUNDO, INC, a Delaware corporation d/b/a ADNOWLEDGEMAIL.COM; ADKNOWLEDGE, INC., a Delaware corporation, d/b/a ADKNOWLEDGEMAIL.COM; SCOTT LYNN, an individual; and JOHN DOES, 1-X, Defendants. JAMES S. GORDON, Jr., a married individual, d/b/a `GORDONWORKS.COM'; OMNI INNOVATIONS, LLC., a Washington limited liability company, Plaintiffs,

The Honorable John C. Coughenour

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE NO. CV06-0204JCC DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE UNDER SEAL THEIR MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY OF TESTIMONY RE SETTLEMENTS (DKT. NO. 87) NOTE ON MOTION CALENDAR: January 26, 2007

Pursuant to Local Rule 5(g) and Paragraph 13 of this Court's October 26, 2006 Protective Order filed in the above-captioned action (Dkt. # 37), Defendants request leave to file their Motion to Compel Discovery of Testimony re Settlements (Dkt. No. 87, the "Motion") under seal. Defendants also request leave to file under seal the Declaration of Derek A. Newman in Support of Motion to Compel Discovery (Dkt. No. 88, "Newman Decl."). Defendants do not believe the material contained in those documents are confidential, but Plaintiffs designated portions of them confidential pursuant to the
DEFS.' MOT. FOR LEAVE TO FILE UNDER SEAL THEIR MOT. TO COMPEL - 1 (CV06-0204JCC)
NEWMAN & NEWMAN, ATTORNEYS AT LAW, LLP 505 Fifth Ave. S., Ste. 610 Seattle, Washington 98104 [phone]

Dockets.Justia.com

Case 2:06-cv-00204-JCC

Document 86

Filed 01/11/2007

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protective order in place in this case. Local Rule 5(g)(1) requires a showing "that the public's right of access is outweighed by the interests... of the parties in protecting files, records, or other documents from public review." The Motion and Newman Decl. seek the discovery of relevant information concerning Defendant James Gordon's ("Gordon") prior settlements with third parties alleged to have sent him unsolicited commercial email. Defendants could not effectively argue the relevance of that information without discussing it. However, Gordon claims that information is confidential. Filing the Motion and Newman Decl. under seal will allow the Court to strike an effective balance between Defendants' legitimate discovery requests and any legitimate interest Gordon may have in preserving the confidentiality of his settlement discussions. Accordingly, good cause exists for filing the Motion and Newman Decl. under seal. In addition, Paragraph 13 of the Protective Order provides as follows: "All materials containing CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION that are submitted to the Court... shall remain confidential and shall be accorded in camera treatment." Defendants do not believe the information in the Motion and Newman Decl. is confidential. However, for Plaintiffs' benefit they have marked those documents "CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION" and are moving to file them under seal, to ensure this Court reviews them in camera pursuant to the Protective Order.

DATED this 11th day of January, 2007. NEWMAN & NEWMAN, ATTORNEYS AT LAW, LLP

By:

Derek A. Newman, WSBA No. 26967 Roger M. Townsend, WSBA No. 25525 Attorneys for Defendants

DEFS.' MOT. FOR LEAVE TO FILE UNDER SEAL THEIR MOT. TO COMPEL - 2 (CV06-0204JCC)

NEWMAN & NEWMAN, ATTORNEYS AT LAW, LLP

505 Fifth Ave. S., Ste. 610 Seattle, Washington 98104 [phone]