Elkins v. North Seattle Community College et al

Filing 15

ORDER granting 7 Motion to Seal Exhibits to Complaint by Judge Robert S. Lasnik. cc Vernon Elkins Jr (RS)

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
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO SEAL EXHIBITS TO COMPLAINT - 1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE VERNON ELKINS, JR., Plaintiff, Case No. C08-1466RSL v. NORTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, et al., Defendants. ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO SEAL EXHIBITS TO COMPLAINT

This matter comes before the Court on plaintiff's motion to seal pages 1-24 of the complaint. Those pages include a list of plaintiff's proposed witnesses, including what appears to be their home addresses. Plaintiff, who is proceeding pro se, contends that the pages should be sealed to protect the witnesses from retaliation. Sealing the pages is not warranted to protect the witnesses from retaliation. Plaintiff will have to disclose their names and contact information to defendant as part of his initial disclosures. However, plaintiff did not need to include the witness list with his complaint, nor did he need to file it in the Court's electronic docket. The public has no interest in learning the witnesses' home addresses. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS plaintiff's motion to seal (Dkt. #7). The Clerk of the Court is directed to seal the exhibits to plaintiff's complaint, Docket #1-

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

3 and Docket #6-2, to protect the privacy of the witnesses. Plaintiff is hereby ORDERED to file a copy of the exhibits, without the witness list, within ten days of the date of this order. He should label the documents as the "Exhibits to Plaintiff's Complaint." DATED this 5th day of January, 2009.

A Robert S. Lasnik
United States District Judge

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO SEAL EXHIBITS TO COMPLAINT - 2