State of Washington v. Matheson Flight Extenders Inc

Filing 101

ORDER granting 75 Motion to Seal. Signed by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour.(ELS)

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

1
2
3
4
5
6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

7
8
9

STATE OF WASHINGTON,

10
v.

11
12

Plaintiff,

CASE NO. C17-1925-JCC
ORDER

MATHESON FLIGHT EXTENDERS, INC.,

13

Defendant.

14
15

This matter comes before the Court on the State of Washington’s unopposed motion to

16

seal exhibits attached to its motion in limine that disclose a former employee’s private medical

17

conditions (Dkt. No. 75). “There is a strong presumption of public access to the court’s files.”

18

W.D. Wash. Local Civ. R. 5(g). To overcome that presumption, a party must show “good cause”

19

for sealing a document attached to a non-dispositive motion and “compelling reasons” to seal a

20

document attached to a dispositive motion. Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d

21

1172, 1178–81 (9th Cir. 2006). The motion in limine is a non-dispositive motion, and the Court

22

finds good cause to seal the exhibits because the State’s interest in keeping the employee’s

23

private medical conditions under seal outweighs the public’s interest in their disclosure,

24

particularly because the parties have reached a settlement and the records will not be used in the

25

litigation. Therefore, the Court GRANTS the motion.

26

//
ORDER
C17-1925-JCC
PAGE - 1

1

DATED this 31st day of March 2021.

A

2
3
4

John C. Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
ORDER
C17-1925-JCC
PAGE - 2