Opinion
Case No.: 17-cv-00586-AJB-KSC
12-01-2020
GERALD MCGHEE, an individual, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. NORTH AMERICAN BANCARD, LLC, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO SEAL SELECT PORTIONS OF DOCUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO L.R. 79.2 AND PROTECTIVE ORDER
(Doc. No. 85)
Pending before the Court is Plaintiff's motion to file under seal portions of various documents in support of his motion for class certification. (Doc. No. 85.) The portions of these documents contain information designated by Defendants as "CONFIDENTIAL" under the terms of the Protective Order in this action, (Doc No. 67). Defendant has not opposed the motion. Good cause and compelling reasons appearing, the Court GRANTS the motion to seal.
In the Ninth Circuit, courts are split on whether the "good cause" or "compelling reasons" standard applies to sealed documents in the class certification context. Compare Ramirez v. GEO Grp., No. 3:18-cv-02136-LAB-MSB, 2019 WL 6782920, at *3 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 11, 2019) ("The vast majority of courts within this circuit treat motions for class certification as non-dispositive motions to which the good cause sealing standard applies.") (internal quotation marks omitted) with Yan Mei Zheng v. Toyota Motor Corp., No. 5:17-cv-06591-BLF, 2019 WL 6841324, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 16, 2019) ("This Court follows numerous other district courts within the Ninth Circuit in concluding that the compelling reasons standard applies to motions to seal documents relating to class certification."). The documents Plaintiff here seeks to seal contain sensitive proprietary information. (Doc. No. 85-1 at 4-5.) The Court need not resolve whether the good cause or compelling reasons standard applies because under either standard, sealing of these documents is appropriate. See Yan Mei Zheng-Lawson v. Toyota Motor Corp., No. 17-CV-06591-BLF, 2019 WL 3413253, at *2 (N.D. Cal. July 29, 2019) (sealing sensitive proprietary information); Nichols v. GEICO Gen. Ins. Co., No. 2:18-CV-01253-RAJ, 2020 WL 5105442, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 31, 2020) (sealing proprietary competitive information under either the good cause or the compelling reasons standard).
As such, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's motion to seal Exhibits 4, 5, 9, and 10.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: December 1, 2020
/s/_________
Hon. Anthony J. Battaglia
United States District Judge