Opinion
20cv1058-TWR-LL
12-22-2021
EPICENTRX, INC., Plaintiff v. COREY A. CARTER, M.D., Defendant
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO SEAL
[ECF No. 152]
Honorable Linda Lopez United States Magistrate Judge
Currently before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion to Seal “Highly Confidential Exhibit A to Andrew Breimbau Declaration.” ECF No. 152. The declaration and exhibit were filed in support of Plaintiff's opposition to a motion to compel. Id. In support, Plaintiff states “the Exhibit A has been marked ‘Highly Confidential' under the Protective Order in this action because it includes information that is not available to the public and reflects Plaintiff's technology, operations, specifications, products, know-how, inventions, prototypes, how Plaintiff conducts its business, and other information related to confidential disclosure agreements or non-disclosure agreements.” Id. at 2.
On December 20, 2021, Defendant's counter claims were dismissed, with partial leave to amend. ECF No. 157.
Generally, documents filed in civil cases are presumed to be available to the public. EEOC v. Erection Co., 900 F.2d 168, 170 (9th Cir. 1990). A moving party must show compelling reasons to justify an order sealing documents. Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178-79 (9th Cir. 2006). What constitutes a compelling reason is left to the discretion of the trial court. Nixon v. Warner Commc'ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 599 (1978). Examples include when a court record might be used as “sources of business information that might harm a litigant's competitive standing.” Id. at 598-99. This includes “trade secrets or other confidential research, development, or commercial information.” Phillips v. GMC, 307 F.3d 1206, 1211 (9th Cir. 2002).
Upon review, the single-page exhibit appears to contain confidential research and development information, that if disclosed, might harm Plaintiff's competitive standing. Accordingly, the Motion to Seal [ECF No. 152] is GRANTED. The document lodged at ECF No. 153 will be filed under seal.
IT IS SO ORDERED.