Edgin v. Blue Valley U.S.D. 229

Full title: SPENCER EDGIN, on behalf of his minor daughter, I.E. Plaintiff, v. BLUE…

Court: United States District Court, District of Kansas

Date published: Sep 20, 2021

20-cv-02547-JPO (D. Kan. Sep. 20, 2021)

Opinion

20-cv-02547-JPO

09-20-2021

SPENCER EDGIN, on behalf of his minor daughter, I.E. Plaintiff, v. BLUE VALLEY U.S.D. 229 and LYDIA MESSENGER Defendants.

James P. O'Hara U.S. Magistrate Judge

ORDER ON MOTION TO SEAL

James P. O'Hara U.S. Magistrate Judge

Now before the Court is the parties' Joint Motion to Permit Redaction of Minor Settlement Agreement for Public Record and Motion to Seal Unredacted Minor Settlement Agreement (ECF No. 106). For the reasons explained below, the court grants the motion.

There is a strong presumption in favor of public access to judicial records and documents, particularly when the court has “used the sealed documents to determine litigants' substantive legal rights.” United States v. Pickard, 733 F.3d 1297, 1302 (10th Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted). “But the right of public access to judicial records is ‘not absolute' and the strong presumption in favor of public access ‘can be overcome where countervailing interests heavily outweigh the public interests in access.'” Harte v. Burns, No. 13-2586-JWL, 2020 WL 1888823, at *1 (D. Kan. Apr. 16, 2020) (citing United States v. Walker, 761 Fed.Appx. 822, 834 (10th Cir. 2019)).

The parties have only requested a very limited redaction of the minor settlement agreement that is placed on the public record and have requested that the unredacted settlement agreement be filed under seal. Specifically, the parties only seek to redact and permanently seal the minor plaintiff's name. The Court finds the redaction of these limited portions of the settlement agreement are appropriate. See Harte v. Burns, 2020 WL 1888823, at *2 (permitting redaction of minor plaintiff name and personal matters).

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED BY THE COURT THAT the parties' Joint Motion to Permit Redaction of Minor Settlement Agreement for Public Record and Motion to Seal Unredacted Minor Settlement Agreement is granted. The sealed, unredacted settlement agreement is filed on the record as ECF No. 106-1. The redacted version of the settlement agreement is attached to the order approving minor settlement as ECF No. 108-1.

IT IS SO ORDERED.