Calhoun v. Google LLC

4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA PATRICK CALHOUN, et al., Case No. 20-cv-05146-LHK (SVK) 8 Plaintiffs, ORDER ON ADMINISTRATIVE 9 v. MOTION TO FILE DOCUMENT UNDER SEAL 10 GOOGLE LLC, Re: Dkt. No. 151 11 Defendant.

12 Now before the Court is Google’s Administrative Motions to File Documents Under Seal (Dkt. 151) seeking to seal portions of the parties’ April 1, 2021 Joint Discovery Letter Brief (Dkt.

14 Dkt. 152).

15 Courts recognize a “general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. Of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 17 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Communs., Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 & n.7 (1978)). A request to seal court records therefore starts with a “strong presumption in favor of access.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178 (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). The standard for overcoming the presumption of public access to court records depends on the purpose for which the records are filed with the court. A party seeking to seal court records relating to motions that are “more than tangentially related to the underlying cause of action” must demonstrate “compelling reasons” that support secrecy. Ctr. For Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., 809 F.3d 1092, 1099 (9th Cir. 2016). For records attached to motions that re “not related, or only tangentially related, to the merits of the case,” the lower “good cause” standard of Rule 26(c) applies. Id.; see also Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. A party moving to seal court records must also comply with the procedures established by Civil Local 1 Here, the “good cause” standard applies because the information the parties seek to seal || was submitted to the Court in connection with a discovery-related motion, rather than a motion || that concerns the merits of the case. The Court may reach different conclusions regarding sealing || these documents under different standards or in a different context. Having considered the motions to seal, supporting declarations, and the pleadings on file, and good cause appearing, the || Court ORDERS as follows: 8 ee Court’s Ruling □□ on Motion to Reason(s) for Court’s Ruling 9 ealed Seal Joint Letter Brief Regarding Dispute [GRANTED as to Narrowly tailored to protect 10 Concerning Google’s Motion for edacted portions at {confidential technical information Wl Protective Order 3:8-9, 4:20- 22, 4:27- regarding various types of data logs 28, 5:23-25, 7:7-8, maintained by Google, including the 2 7:14, 7:16-19, 7:23-24, type, contents, number, size, 7:27-28, 8:1-2 sampling method and analysis 13 service related to those logs.

SO ORDERED.

15 || Dated: April 5, 2021

Sete vif SUSAN VAN KEULEN Zz 18 United States Magistrate Judge