Opinion
2:22-cv-00612-JCM-EJY
04-21-2022
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. MATTHEW WAGE BEASLEY, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
ELAYNA J. YOUCHAH UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Pending before the Court is Defendant Shane Jager's Motion for Leave of Court to File Accounting of Assets Under Seal. ECF No. 51. The Court has reviewed the Motion and the Exhibit prior to issuing this Order.
As the party seeking to seal a judicial record, Defendant Jager must meet his burden of overcoming the strong presumption in favor of access and public policies favoring disclosure. Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178-79 (9th Cir. 2006) (holding that those who seek to maintain the secrecy of documents attached to dispositive motions must meet the high threshold of showing that “compelling reasons” support secrecy). The mere fact that the production of records may lead to a party's embarrassment, incrimination or exposure to further litigation will not alone compel the court to seal its records. Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1136 (9th Cir. 2003). However, where a party seeks to seal documents attached to a non-dispositive motion, the “public policies that support the right of access to dispositive motions … do not apply with equal force ….” Kamakana, 417 F.3d at 1179 (citation omitted).
Here, Defendant Jager's Motion to Seal seeks to provide information previously ordered by the Court to be disclosed that is not, necessarily, related to a specific motion. The document to be sealed contains personal financial information and description of property owned by Defendant and his spouse. The Court finds that the sealing of the information from public view is proper in this case.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Shane Jager's Motion for Leave of Court to File Accounting of Assets Under Seal (ECF No. 51) is GRANTED and pages 4 and 5 of ECF No. 51 shall remain sealed.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion to Seal, ECF No. 51 at pages 1 through 3, shall be unsealed.