Opinion
No. CV-21-00666-PHX-JJT
05-26-2021
National Payment Systems LLC, Plaintiff, v. BSR Acquisition Company LLC, Defendant.
ORDER
At issue are the parties' Joint Motion to Seal Filed Documents (Doc. 76) and Defendant's Motion to Seal Document (Doc. 77).
In the Ninth Circuit, courts "start with a strong presumption in favor of access to court records." Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). "In order to overcome this strong presumption, a party seeking to seal a judicial record must articulate justifications for sealing that outweigh the historical right of access and the public policies favoring disclosure." Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178-79 (9th Cir. 2006). Where a document is "more than tangentially related to the merits" of a case, the party seeking to seal the document must demonstrate "compelling reasons to keep the documents under seal." Ctr. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1103.
The parties have provided sufficient compelling reasons to request the sealing of two already-filed documents, the Reply (Doc. 75) to Plaintiff's Motion for Relief Regarding Defendant BSR Acquisition Company LLC's Inability to Pay on a Judgment, and Plaintiff's Motion (Doc. 74) to Strike Declaration of Brian Goudie in Support of Defendant BSR Acquisition Company LLC's Response to Plaintiff's Motion for Relief Regarding Inability to Pay on a Judgment. Likewise, Defendant has provided sufficient compelling reasons to file under seal the Response (presently lodged under seal at Doc. 78) to Plaintiff's Motion to Strike Declaration of Brian Goudie. Specifically, the parties have stated that the subject documents contain confidential business and financial data, the disclosure of which could harm the parties' competitive standing. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. Moreover, the Court takes into account the expedited nature of the subject briefing in conjunction with Plaintiff's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED granting the parties' Joint Motion to Seal Filed Documents (Doc. 76) and Defendant's Motion to Seal Document (Doc. 77).
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall seal the already-filed documents at Docs. 74 and 75.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall file under seal the document presently lodged under seal at Doc. 78.
Dated this 26th day of May, 2021.
/s/_________
Honorable John J. Tuchi
United States District Judge