Opinion
Case No: 2:14-CV-00046-KJM-CKD
03-02-2017
COPART, INC., Plaintiff, v. SPARTA CONSULTING, INC., KPIT INFOSYSTEMS, INC., and KPIT TECHNOLOGIES, LTD., Defendants. SPARTA CONSULTING, INC., Counterplaintiff, v. COPART, INC., Counterdefendant.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF/COUNTERDEFENDANT COPART, INC.'S REQUEST TO SEAL CERTAIN EXHIBITS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Having considered Plaintiff/Counterdefendant Copart, Inc.'s Request To Seal Portions of Certain Exhibits Submitted in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, and the papers filed in relation thereto, and finding compelling reasons therefor:
Copart's request to seal is HEREBY GRANTED as explained below.
The court finds that the portions of the Expert Report of Michael Shamos ("Shamos Report") highlighted in Exhibit A to the Declaration of Dianne Yassa in support of Copart's request to seal disclose the detailed technical specifications, including the software source code, for the Copart imaging technology that forms the basis of Copart's trade secrets claims in this action. Preventing disclosure of trade secret information is a "compelling reason" justifying the sealing of documents. Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006). Copart's request to seal is narrowly tailored to seal only the information in the Shamos report that discloses Copart's claimed trade secrets.
The portions of the deposition of Jayson Adair highlighted in Exhibit C to the Yassa Declaration ("Adair Testimony") discuss Copart's confidential settlement negotiations and agreement with third party Accenture, Inc. Sealing is appropriate here, particularly because the confidential settlement agreement between Copart and Accenture was of a purely commercial dispute that did not implicate the public interest. Salazar v. Sysco Cent. California, Inc., No. 1:15-CV-01758-DAD-SKO, 2017 WL 68114, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 5, 2017). Copart's sealing request is narrowly tailored, targeting portions of six pages of deposition testimony.
Therefore, the court approves Copart's request to file under seal the portions of the Shamos Report and Adair Testimony identified in Exhibits A and C to the Yassa Declaration, respectively. At the same time, consistent with Local Rule 140, the parties shall file redacted versions of the Shamos Report and Adair Testimony on the public docket, reflecting redactions identified in Exhibits B and D to the Yassa Declaration.
This order does not predetermine sealing for the purposes of trial. In addition, the court may revisit this order if it determines certain information should be disclosed to properly resolve the motions for summary judgment in a public order.
IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: March 2, 2017
/s/_________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE