Opinion
Case No.: 1:10-CV-00148 LJO JLT.
May 13, 2011
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART REQUEST TO SEAL (Doc. 70)
Before the Court is Defendant's request to seal records (Doc. 70) filed in opposition to Plaintiff's motion to quash the subpoena issued by Defendant to third-party witness, Gallina, Inc. (Doc.
"A motion to seal documents that are not part of the judicial record, such as `private materials unearthed during discovery,' is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)." Seals v. Mitchell, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38654 at * 2-3 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 30, 2011). The Court may grant a protective order "to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense." Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass'n, 605 F.3d 665, 678 (9th Cir. 2010).
To determine whether materials attached to a non-dispositive motion should be filed under seal, the Court must evaluate whether "`'good cause' exists to protect th[e] information from being disclosed to the public by balancing the needs for discovery against the need for confidentiality.'" Pintos, at 678 (quoting Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1213 (9th Cir. 2002)).
Here, the documents sought to be sealed, in part, relate to proprietary information maintained by Plaintiff about its ongoing business operations. As a result, the Court finds good cause to ORDER the following pages SEALED:
1. The following pages of Defendant's Request to Seal Documents are SEALED:
a. Page 124 of Exhibit B to the Declaration of Andrew J. Gabel
b. The entirety of Exhibit C to the Declaration of Andrew J. Gabel
c. The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to file these pages under seal;
2. The following pages of Defendant's Request to Seal Documents are NOT SEALED:
a. All remaining pages of Exhibit B to the Declaration of Andrew J. Gabel including pages 122-123, 125-126, 153-156, 159-167
b. Counsel for Defendant is ORDERED to file these pages in the public docket.
IT IS SO ORDERED.