Henry v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC

Filing 119

MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER SEALING DOCUMENTS granting Plaintiff's 118 MOTION to File Motion to Compel Under Seal; directing that Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Discovery and Plaintiff's Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Discovery be filed as sealed. Signed by Magistrate Judge Cheryl A. Eifert on 5/21/2018. (cc: counsel of record; any unrepresented party) (jsa)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA
HUNTINGTON DIVISION
KIMBERLY HENRY, on behalf of herself
and all others similarly situated,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 3:17-cv-01789

OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC,
Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER SEALING DOCUMENTS
Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion and Integrated Memorandum of Law
to File her Motion to Compel Under Seal (ECF No. 118), requesting the attached Motion
to Compel Discovery and Memorandum in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel
Discovery be filed under seal. Plaintiff argues that the Motion to Compel Discovery and
Memorandum in Support of the Motion to Compel Discovery contain documents which
have been properly designated as confidential pursuant to a protective order.
Given that Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel and Memorandum in Support of the
Motion to Compel is not a dispositive motion, and given that objections to the confidential
designation of the documents have not been addressed by the Court and the parties, the
Court GRANTS the Motion to Seal and ORDERS that Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel
Discovery and Plaintiff’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel
Discovery be filed as sealed. (ECF Nos. 118-1 and 118-2). The undersigned is cognizant of
the well-established Fourth Circuit precedent recognizing a presumption in favor of

public access to judicial records. Ashcraft v. Conoco, Inc., 218 F.3d 288 (4th Cir. 2000).
As stated in Ashcraft, before sealing a document, the Court must follow a three step
process: (1) provide public notice of the request to seal; (2) consider less drastic
alternatives to sealing the document; and (3) provide specific reasons and factual findings
supporting its decision to seal the documents and for rejecting alternatives. Id. at 302. In
this case, Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Discovery and Memorandum in Support shall be
sealed and will be designated as sealed on the Court’s docket. The Court deems this
sufficient notice to interested members of the public. The Court has considered less
drastic alternatives to sealing the documents, but in view of the confidential nature of the
information, and the format on which the information is contained, no such alternatives
are feasible at this time. Moreover, the public’s right to be informed regarding the
particulars of a discovery motion is outweighed by the interest of the parties to be
protected in this circumstance. Accordingly, the Court finds that sealing Plaintiff’s Motion
to Compel Discovery and Memorandum in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel
Discovery does not unduly prejudice the public’s right to access court documents.
The Clerk is instructed to provide a copy of this Order to all counsel of record and
to any unrepresented party.
ENTERED: May 21, 2018