Opinion
NO. CIV. S-09-1145 LKK/EFB.
December 1, 2010
ORDER
On November 22, 2010, defendant Continental Tire North America Inc. ("Continental") filed an application to file Exhibit A to its motion to exclude plaintiff's retained expert, Troy Cottles, under seal. ECF No. 150. There is a strong presumption in favor of public access to documents filed in connection with dispositive motions, and this presumption weighs against sealing such documents. Kamakana v. City County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006). In the context of a dispositive motion, "the district court must base its decision [to seal materials] on a compelling reason and articulate the factual basis for its ruling, without relying on hypothesis or conjecture." Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003).
For the foregoing reasons, the Court tentatively GRANTS defendant Continental's application. Continental is cautioned, however, that this sealing is tentative. Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1186. The Court will revisit whether these documents should be permanently sealed at a later time, when it is possible to perform the fact specific analysis required by Foltz.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: November 30, 2010.