Rosario v. Starbucks Corporation

Filing 26

ORDER granting defendant's 17 Motion to Seal by Judge Richard A Jones.(RS)

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1 The Honorable Richard A. Jones 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 9 10 11 12 JONATHAN SANTIAGO ROSARIO, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, 13 Plaintiff, 14 15 v. STARBUCKS CORPORATION, 16 No. 2:16-cv-01951 RAJ ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO SEAL PORTIONS OF EXHIBITS 1 AND 3 TO DECLARATION OF TRACY VRCHOTA IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO DISMISS Defendant. 17 This matter comes before the Court on Defendant Starbucks Corporation’s 18 19 (“Starbucks”) motion to seal portions of Exhibits 1 and 3. Dkt. # 17. There is a “strong presumption” in favor of public access to court records. 20 21 Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006); Local 22 Rules W.D. Wash. LCR 5(g). A court cannot allow documents to remain under seal 23 unless it articulates its reasons for doing so. Apple Inc. v. Psystar Corp., 658 F.3d 1150, 24 1162 (9th Cir. 2011) (vacating order sealing, without explanation, documents submitted 25 in support of injunction motion). In general, the party seeking to shield litigation 26 documents from public view must show “compelling reasons” for doing so, and the 27 court must balance the reasons the party articulates against the public’s interest in ORDER 1 understanding the judicial process, the general preference for access and disclosure, and 2 other policies favoring disclosure. Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178-79. Starbucks has made the proper showing to support the partial sealing of these 3 4 exhibits. The redacted information falls within LCR 5.2(a), and Starbucks has 5 minimized that amount of information to be shielded from public view. Moreover, 6 Plaintiff did not file an opposition to the motion, therefore admitting to the motion’s 7 merit. Local Rules W.D. Wash. LCR 7(b)(2). Accordingly, the Court GRANTS 8 Starbuck’s motion. Dkt. # 17. 9 DATED this 25th day of May, 2017. 10 11 12 A 13 14 The Honorable Richard A. Jones United States District Judge 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 ORDER

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