Opinion
No. 05-16-00763-CV
02-01-2018
THE FAN EXPO, LLC, Appellant v. NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NFL ENTERPRISES, LLC, NFL NETWORK SERVICES, INC. D/B/A NFL NETWORK, NFL DIGITAL MEDIA, AND NFL.COM, Appellees
On Appeal from the 193rd Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. DC-15-08119
ORDER
By letter filed January 31, 2018, Steve Thompson, a non-party, requests "access to the briefs and other case filings" that were filed in this appeal under seal.
Our records indicate that, in addition to the briefs, a portion of the clerk's record was also filed under seal. Specifically, our records reflect the Dallas County District Clerk filed volumes four through six of the main clerk's record and two volumes of supplemental clerk's record under seal.
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a provides that court records may only be sealed upon a party's written motion and court order. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 76a. The clerk's record contains an agreed protective and confidentiality order temporary sealing certain documents "for a period of 30 days from filing." However, the clerk's record does not contain an order sealing court records in accordance with rule 76a, and the trial court clerk has informed the Clerk of the Court that no motion to seal records was ever filed.
Accordingly, we GRANT Thompson's request. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 76a. We STRIKE the portion of the clerk's and supplemental clerk's records filed under seal and ORDER Dallas County District Clerk Felicia Pitre to refile that record without seal. We further ORDER the briefs in this appeal UNSEALED. Thompson may obtain paper copies of any court records in this appeal at a cost to him of ten cents per printed side of page. See Order Regarding Fees Charged in The Supreme Court, in Civil Cases in the Courts of Appeals, and Before the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation, Misc. Docket No. 15-9158 (Tex. Aug. 28, 2015). The cost for a certificate and seal is $5. See id.
/s/ DOUGLAS S. LANG
PRESIDING JUSTICE