Parrot S.A. et al v. Torres

Filing 35

ORDER granting third-party defendant MicaSense, Inc.'s 26 MOTION to Seal. Dkt. 28 shall remain sealed. Signed by Judge Robert S. Lasnik. (SWT)

1
2
3
4
5
6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

7
8
9
10

PARROT S.A. and PARROT DRONES
S.A.S.,

11

Plaintiffs,

12

ORDER GRANTING
MOTION TO SEAL

v.

13

Case No. 2:18-CV-00867-RSL

GABRIEL TORRES, an individual,

14

Defendant.

15
16
17
18
19

GABRIEL TORRES,
Counterclaim and Third-Party Plaintiff,
v.

21

PARROT S.A., PARROT DRONES S.A.S.,
MICASENSE, INC., GILLES LABOSSIERE,
and HENRY SEYDOUX,

22

Counter-Claim/Third-Party Defendants.

20

23
24
25
26

This matter comes before the Court on third-party defendant MicaSense, Inc.’s
(“MicaSense”) motion to seal the unredacted version of its opposition to Gabriel Torres’s
motion for partial summary judgment regarding advancement of expenses. Dkt. #26.

27
28
ORDER - 1

1

There is a “strong presumption of public access to the court’s files.” LCR 5(g). A party

2 moving to seal must therefore demonstrate “good cause.” Hanson v. Wells Fargo Home Mortg.,
3 Inc., No. C13-0939JLR, 2013 WL 5674997, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 17, 2013).
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

This litigation concerns in part certain representations made by defendant Gabriel Torres
to plaintiff Parrot S.A. (“Parrot”). In October 2015, Mr. Torres was sued by a former employer,
AeroVironment, Inc. Mr. Torres, MicaSense, and Parrot entered into a joint representation with
Parrot’s counsel, so that Mr. Torres could communicate with Parrot about the lawsuit.
MicaSense has redacted the portions of its opposition to Mr. Torres’s motion for partial
summary judgment that pertain to these communications. Dkt. #23.
These portions contain confidential and sensitive information protected by the attorneyclient privilege. We “generally accept attorney-client privilege … as a compelling reason
justifying a motion to seal.” WatchGuard Techs., Inc. v. iValue Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd., No. C151697-BAT, 2017 WL 3581624, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 18, 2017) (Internal citation and
quotation marks omitted). This Court has already permitted similar portions to be redacted from
the Complaint, see Dkt. #1, 10, and First Amended Complaint. See Dkt. #11, 17.
For all of the foregoing reasons, MicaSense’s motion is GRANTED. The unredacted
version of its opposition to Mr. Torres’s motion for partial summary judgment, filed on
September 10, 2018, shall remain sealed.
DATED this 12th day of October, 2018.

21
22
23

A
Robert S. Lasnik

24

United States District Judge

25
26
27
28
ORDER - 2