Garcia et al v. City of Everett et al

Filing 93

MINUTE ORDER by Judge Richard A. Jones. 47 MOTION to Seal in Support of Opposition to Summary Judgment filed by Manuel G Garcia is GRANTED IN PART. Defendants are directed to file redacted versions of Exhibits 15, 23, 26, 30 and 39 on the public docket on or before 4/20/2015. SEE ORDER FOR DETAILS. (VE)

HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MANUAL G. GARCIA, individually;
SHERMAN MAH, individually; AND
RICHARD J. WOLFINGTON, individually,
Plaintiffs,

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MINUTE ORDER

v.
CITY OF EVERETT, a municipal
corporation; DAVID M. FUDGE,
individually and his marital community;
KATHERINE A. ATWOOD, individually
and her marital community,
Defendants.

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CASE NO. C14-00030RAJ

The clerk issues the following minute order by the authority of the Honorable
Richard A. Jones, United States District Court Judge.
This matter comes before the court on plaintiffs’ motion to seal opposition brief

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and exhibits in support of summary judgment. Dkt. # 47. Defendants filed a response in

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support of this motion, which establishes the basis for sealing specific pages within

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plaintiffs’ exhibits 15, 23, 26, 30, and 39. Dkt. # 49. The motion is GRANTED IN

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PART.

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There is a presumption of public access to judicial records and documents. Nixon
v. Warner Commc'ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978). Therefore, a party must normally

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MINUTE ORDER – 1

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demonstrate “compelling reasons” to seal judicial records attached to a dispositive

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motion. Kamakana v. City of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006).
Here, there is a compelling reason to seal third-party personnel information. See,

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e.g., Zuccaro v. MobileAccess Networks, Inc., 2012 WL 261342, at *4-5 (W.D. Wash.

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Jan. 30, 2012) (granting motion to seal documents “relating to employees’ private data,”

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including “financial statements, spreadsheets containing base salaries, targets, and

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expected bonus and commission compensation…regarding various business and

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employment decisions.”). However, contrary to the parties’ assumptions the court does

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not have the ability to seal specific pages of exhibits. The parties are required to file

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unredacted versions of the exhibits as well as redacted versions on the public docket. The

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redactions must be narrowly tailored. See Murphy v. Kavo Am. Corp., 2012 WL 1497489

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(N.D.Cal. 2012) (denying motion to seal entire exhibits, but allowing parties to redact

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confidential information); Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1183 (noting that redactions are

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preferable as they “have the virtue of being limited and clear.”).
Accordingly, the court issues the following order with respect to the documents

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subject to this motion:
1. Plaintiffs’ Opposition

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Plaintiffs filed an unredacted version of their opposition (Dkt. # 49) along with a

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redacted version on the public docket (Dkt. # 68). The redacted version addresses the

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specific lines identified by defendants as confidential. See Dkt. # 83, p. 6 (designating

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page 28, lines 17-20). No further action is required with respect to plaintiffs’ opposition

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brief.

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2. Exhibits 15, 23, 26, 30, and 39
Defendants have designated the following pages as containing confidential thirdparty personnel information:

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MINUTE ORDER – 2

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Exhibit

Bates Number

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COE014868, 14870, 14872, 14874, 14876, 14881, 14883,

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and 14885.

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COE014415

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COE014876

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30

COE014798

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39

COE014827

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The court agrees that these specific pages contain confidential data that should be
sealed. Accordingly, defendants are directed to file redacted versions of these exhibits on

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the public docket on or before April 20, 2015. The redacted versions should contain the

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entire exhibit, with the specific pages noted above redacted.

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Dated this 16th day of April, 2015.

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WILLIAM M. MCCOOL
Clerk

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s/Rhonda Stiles
Deputy Clerk

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MINUTE ORDER – 3