Summary
denying motion to seal corporate disclosure statement because defendants failed to explain how the “business interests [of a limited partnership] could suffer harm by the public disclosure of the identity and citizenship of its owners” and noting that “[i]n any event, the public disclosure that an individual has an ownership interest in an entity created by a state cannot be said to constitute a clearly defined and serious injury”
Summary of this case from Carr v. IF& P Holding Co.Opinion
C. A. 23-140-CFC
04-03-2023
DARTON ARCHERY, LLC, Plaintiff, v. BOWTECH, LLC f/k/a BOWTECH, INC., BOWTECH GP, LLC, EXCALIBUR CROSSBOW, LLC, EXCALIBUR CROSSBOW US, LLC, EXCALIBUR CROSSBOW HOLDINGS, LLC, and EXCALIBUR CROSSBOW INVESTORS, LLC, Defendnats.
MEMORANDUM ORDER
Pending before me is Defendants' Unopposed Motion to Seal Exhibit 1 to Defendants' Corporate Disclosure Statement (D.I. 17). Defendants want to maintain under seal the ownership and citizenship of JDH Capital I, LP, a Delaware limited partnership that is the sole member of Bowhunter Acquisition, LLC, which is the sole member of Defendant Bowtech, LLC, which is the sole member of Defendant Excalibur Crossbow, LLC and Defendant Excalibur Crossbow US, LLC.
The District Court is not a star chamber. We are a public institution in a democratic republic and the public has a right of access to our filings and proceedings. That right is founded in the common law and “antedates the Constitution.” Bank of Am. Nat'l Tr. & Sav. Ass 'n v. Hotel Rittenhouse Assocs., 800 F.2d 339, 343 (3d Cir. 1986). The public's right of access is not absolute; but it is strongly presumed, and it can be overcome only if a party demonstrates that public disclosure of a filing will result in “a clearly defined and serious injury,” In re Avandia Mktg, Sales Pracs. & Prod. Liab. Litig., 924 F.3d 662,672 (3d Cir. 2019).
Defendants state that “[d] etails pertaining to the specific ownership of JDH Capital I, LP, are not publicly available and disclosure of such confidential material risks substantial harm to JDH Capital I, LP's business interests.” D.I. 17 at 1. Defendants do not say how JDH Capital I, LP's business interests could suffer harm by the public disclosure of the identity and citizenship of its owners. In any event, the public disclosure that an individual has an ownership interest in an entity created by a state cannot be said to constitute a clearly defined and serious injury. Corporations and limited partnerships may offer individuals protection from liability, but they do not entitle individuals to anonymity in court proceedings.
Now therefore, at Wilmington on this Third day of April in 2023, Defendants' Unopposed Motion to Seal Exhibit 1 to Defendants' Corporate Disclosure Statement (D.I. 17) is DENIED.