Opinion
1:15-cv-3304 (NLH) (JS)
03-05-2020
MARIANITO RUIZ, Plaintiff, v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Defendants.
APPEARANCES: John C. Connell, Esq. Nicholas Franchetti, Esq. Archer & Greiner, P.C. One Centennial Square P.O. Box 3000 Haddonfield, NJ 08033-0968 Counsel for Defendant Lauren Reeves Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General of New Jersey Michael R. Sarno, Deputy Attorney General Office of the New Jersey Attorney General R.J. Hughes Justice Complex PO Box 116 Trenton, NJ 08625 Counsel for Defendants Jerry Stretch, James McCabe, Kevin Manning, Thomas Togno, Matthew Arrowood, Michael Ryan, Gerald Gribble, Stephen Weldon, Brenda Hepner and Edward Soltys, i/p/a Saltese Richard A. Stoloff, Esq. Law Offices of Richard A. Stoloff 605 New Road Linwood, NJ 08221 Counsel for Plaintiff Marianito Ruiz
MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER
APPEARANCES: John C. Connell, Esq.
Nicholas Franchetti, Esq.
Archer & Greiner, P.C.
One Centennial Square
P.O. Box 3000
Haddonfield, NJ 08033-0968
Counsel for Defendant Lauren Reeves Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General of New Jersey
Michael R. Sarno, Deputy Attorney General
Office of the New Jersey Attorney General
R.J. Hughes Justice Complex
PO Box 116
Trenton, NJ 08625
Counsel for Defendants Jerry Stretch, James McCabe, Kevin Manning, Thomas Togno, Matthew Arrowood, Michael Ryan, Gerald Gribble, Stephen Weldon, Brenda Hepner and Edward Soltys, i/p/a Saltese Richard A. Stoloff, Esq.
Law Offices of Richard A. Stoloff
605 New Road
Linwood, NJ 08221
Counsel for Plaintiff Marianito Ruiz HILLMAN , District Judge
WHEREAS, on August 8, 2019, Defendants filed motions for summary judgment asking the Court to dismiss Plaintiff Marianito Ruiz's amended complaint, see ECF Nos. 130 & 131; and
WHEREAS, Defendants submitted certain exhibits in hard copy only pursuant to a discovery confidentiality order issued by Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider; and
WHEREAS, Defendants move to seal Exhibits A-F and H-L which were attached to the Certification of Michael R. Sarno, DAG, but not filed on the public docket in any form for the Court's consideration, see ECF Nos. 155 and 156; and
Defendants do not seek to seal Exhibit G. --------
WHEREAS, Plaintiff seeks to seal the exhibits to his opposition to Defendants' motions, see ECF No. 152; and
WHEREAS, "[i]t is well-settled that there exists, in both criminal and civil cases, a common law public right of access to judicial proceedings and records. The public's right of access extends beyond simply the ability to attend open court proceedings. Rather, it envisions a pervasive common law right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents." In re Cendant Corp., 260 F.3d 183, 192 (3d Cir. 2001) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted); and
WHEREAS, a party seeking to seal portions of the judicial record from public view bears party "bears the heavy burden of showing that the material is the kind of information that courts will protect and that disclosure will work a clearly defined and serious injury to the party seeking closure." Millhouse v. Ebbert, 674 F. App'x 127, 128 (3d Cir. 2017) (per curiam) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted); and
WHEREAS, a motion to seal or otherwise restrict public access is governed by Local Civil Rule 5.3 and states that that motion shall be "a single, consolidated motion on behalf of all parties." The parties have not complied with the Local Rule as they have filed two separate motions to seal and it does not appear they have conferred "in an effort to narrow or eliminate the materials or information that may be the subject of a motion to seal." Local Civ. R. 5.3(c)(2)(i). Moreover, the Rule contemplates that redacted materials be filed on the public docket and the unredacted materials be filed under temporary seal while the motion is pending before the Court, Local Civ. R. 5.3(c)(4). Defendants have not filed their unredacted materials on the docket under temporary seal; and
WHEREAS, the parties may file a conforming motion nunc pro tunc within 5 days of this Order
THEREFORE, IT IS on this 5th day of March, 2020
ORDERED that the parties shall file a motion to seal in compliance with Local Civ. R. 5.3 within 5 days of this Order.
s/ Noel L. Hillman
NOEL L. HILLMAN, U.S.D.J. At Camden, New Jersey