Opinion
2:14-cv-15947
04-26-2022
CITYNET, LLC, on behalf of United States of America, Plaintiff, v. FRONTIER WEST VIRGINIA, INC., et al., Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER SEALING RESPONSE AND EXHIBITS
CHERYL A. EIFERT UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Citynet, LLC'S Motion for Leave to File Under Seal, (ECF No. 299), requesting its Response in Opposition to Defendants' Third Motion for Protective Order along with attached Exhibit A be filed as sealed. The Court notes that the attached Response and cited exhibit contain confidential information. Due to the confidential nature of this information, this Court GRANTS Plaintiff's motion to seal and ORDERS the Clerk to seal Plaintiff's Response and attached Exhibit A. (ECF Nos. 2991, 2). The Motion itself, (ECF No. 299), should not be sealed.
The undersigned is cognizant of the well-established Fourth Circuit precedent recognizing a presumption in favor of public access to judicial records. Ashcraft v. Conoco, Inc., 218 F.3d 288 (4th Cir. 2000). As stated in Ashcraft, before sealing a document, the Court must follow a three-step process: (1) provide public notice of the request to seal; (2) consider less drastic alternatives to sealing the document; and (3) provide specific reasons and factual findings supporting its decision to seal the documents and for rejecting alternatives. Id. at 302. In this case, the response and attached exhibit shall be sealed and will be designated as sealed on the Court's docket. The Court deems this sufficient notice to interested members of the public. The Court has considered less drastic alternatives to sealing the documents, but in view of the nature of the information set forth in the documents-which is information generally protected from public release-alternatives to wholesale sealing are not feasible at this time. Accordingly, the Court finds that sealing the response and attached exhibit does not unduly prejudice the public's right to access court documents. Accordingly, the Clerk is DIRECTED to file the Response and Exhibit A (ECF No. 299-1, 2) under seal.
The Clerk is instructed to provide a copy of this Order to counsel of record and any unrepresented parties.