Opinion
4:22-cv-00076-HSG
01-04-2024
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. CROWD MACHINE, INC., METAVINE, INC, and CRAIG DEREL SPROULE, Defendants, and METAVINE PTY. LTD., Relief Defendant,
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL
HON HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR, JUDGE.
ORDER
The Court, having considered Defendant's Administrative Motion to File Documents Under Seal, and the Declaration of Anne Osborne in support thereof, HEREBY ORDERS THAT:
1. The Court finds there are compelling reasons sufficient to overcome the presumption in favor of granting public access to the documents below. “Courts have found that ‘confidential business information' in the form of ‘financial terms and business strategies' satisfies the ‘compelling reasons' standard.” Baird v. BlackRock Inst. Trust. Co., N.A., 403 F.Supp.3d 765, 792 (N.D. Cal. 2019) (Gilliam, J.) (quoting In re Qualcomm Litig., 2017 WL 5176922, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 8, 2017)) (emphasis added). Courts find compelling reasons to seal records where filings may “become a vehicle for improper purposes, such as the use of records to . . . release trade secrets.” In re Elec. Arts, Inc., 298 Fed.Appx. 568, 569 (9th Cir. 2008) (internal quotation and citation omitted).
2. Further, courts in the Ninth Circuit routinely find compelling reasons to seal personally-identifying information, finding that risks associated with disclosing such information may outweigh the public's interest to access. See, e.g., Cancino Castellar v. Mayorkas, 2021 WL 3678440, at*3-4 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 19, 2021) (collecting cases).
3. Finally, “Courts generally accept attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine as a ‘compelling reason' justifying a motion to seal.” WatchGuard Techs., Inc. v. iValue Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd., 2017 WL 3581624, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 18, 2017) (collecting cases).
4. Accordingly, Plaintiff's Administrative Motion is GRANTED, and the Clerk of the Court is directed to accept the under-seal filing of the following materials:
Docket No. Public / (Sealed)
Document
Portion(s) to Seal
Evidence Offered in Support of Sealing
Ruling
52-1 (50-1)
Declaration of Anne Osborne in support of Defendants' opposition to Plaintiff's motion for monetary relief
with redactions
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-6, 8(j) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive information; personally-identifying information
Granted
52-3 (50-2)
Exhibit A: Expert report of Christian Tregillis
with redactions
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-6, 8(a) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive information
Granted
52-4 (50-3)
Exhibit B: Documents relied upon in expert report of Christian Tregillis
entire document under seal
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-6, 8(b) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive information; proprietary product information
Granted
52-5 (51)
Exhibit C: Supplemental expert report of Christian Tregillis
with redactions
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-6, 8(c) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive
Granted
52-6 (51-1)
Exhibit D: Metavine Genesis release notes
entire document under seal
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-6, 8(d) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive information; proprietary product information
Granted
52-7 (51-2)
Exhibit E: Defendants' written responses to SEC
with redactions
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-7, 8(e) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive information; personally-identifying information
Granted
52-8 (51-3)
Exhibit F: Document produced to SEC
with redactions
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-7, 8(f) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive information; personally-identifying information; proprietary product information
Granted
52-9 (51-4)
Exhibit G: Letter from public accounting and consulting firm re ISRS 4400
entire document under seal
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-6, 8(g) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive information
Granted
52-12 (51-5)
Exhibit J: Production cover letters produced to SEC
with redactions
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-7, 8(h) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive information; personally-identifying information
Granted
52-13 (51-6)
Exhibit K: Defendants' current financial information
entire document under seal
Osborne Decl. ¶¶ 4-7, 8(i) confidential financial and commercially-sensitive information
Granted
IT IS SO ORDERED.