Acantha LLC v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc et al

Filing 210

ORDER signed by Chief Judge William C. Griesbach on 4/20/18. Acantha's motions to restrict (ECF Nos. 166 , 174 , 186 , 200 ) are GRANTED. Defendants' motions to restrict (ECF Nos. 150 , 185 , 203 ) are GRANTED. (cc: all counsel)(Griesbach, William) Modified text on 4/20/2018 (lh).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

ACANTHA LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No.

15-C-1257

DEPUY ORTHOPAEDICS INC., et al.,
Defendants.

ORDER

Before me now are seven motions to seal documents filed in conjunction with the parties’ motions
for partial summary judgment and Defendants’ motion to exclude the opinions and testimony of James
Malackowski. Where confidential information is non-dispositive, or where documents contain “trade
secrets or other categories of bona fide long-term confidentiality,” sealing may be appropriate. Baxter
Intern., Inc. v. Abbott Labs., 297 F.3d 544, 547 (7th Cir. 2002). For instance, “documents containing
sensitive pricing information, sales figures, sales dollar amounts, profit and loss data, and other financial
records not normally made known to the public may be properly filed under seal.” Formax Inc. v. AlkarRapidpak -MP Equip., Inc., No. 11-C-0298, 2013 WL 2452703, at *1 (E.D. Wis. June 5, 2013)
(citations omitted). It may be necessary to maintain a document under seal where public disclosure of the
information would effectively afford “other firms an unearned competitive advantage—unearned because
the issue of public disclosure arises from the adventitious circumstances of the [document]’s having

become caught up in litigation and as a result having become filed in court.” SmithKline Beecham Corp.
v. Pentech Pharm., Inc., 261 F. Supp. 2d 1002, 1008 (N.D. Ill. 2003).
The sealed exhibits and filings in this case reference confidential, non-public, proprietary, and
competitive information regarding the parties’ business operations and marketing strategies as well as the
structure, testing, and operations of their products. This information is worthy of confidentiality under
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)(1)(G). The parties’ motions to seal will therefore be granted.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Acantha’s motions to restrict (ECF Nos. 166, 174, 186,
200) are GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants’ motions to restrict (ECF Nos. 150, 185, 203)
are GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the documents referred to in these motions should be filed
by the Clerk under seal.
Dated this 20th day of April, 2018.
s/ William C. Griesbach
William C. Griesbach, Chief Judge
United States District Court

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