M.G. v. Bodum USA, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

M. G.,

Case No. 19-cv-01069-JCS

Plaintiff, v. ORDER DENYING MOTION TO FILE

UNDER SEAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE

BODUM USA, INC.,

Re: Dkt. No. 87

Defendant.

Defendant Bodum has filed an administrative motion (“Motion”) under Civil Local Rule 79-5 in which is seeks leave to file under seal Plaintiff’s Motion to Approve Settlement and the supporting declaration, including exhibits. In the Motion, which is unopposed, Bodum contends there is good cause to place these documents under seal. Recent Ninth Circuit case law, however, supports the conclusion that Bodum’s request is governed by the “compelling reasons” standard. See Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101 (9th Cir. 2016) (“Consistent with our precedent, we make clear that public access to filed motions and their attachments does not merely depend on whether the motion is technically ‘dispositive.’ Rather, public access will turn on whether the motion is more than tangentially related to the merits of a case.”); Gagliolo v. Kaweah Manor, Inc., No. 120CV01719NONESAB, 2021 WL 1549687, at *4 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 20, 2021) (“It appears that since the decision in Auto Safety, courts in the Ninth Circuit are more inclined to apply the compelling reasons standard to motions related to settlements.”) (listing cases).

Accordingly, the Court DENIES the Motion without prejudice to refiling. In its renewed motion, Bodum shall address whether the documents it seeks to file under seal satisfy the entirety. In addition, Bodum may present arguments as to why the compelling reasons standard || does not apply.

3 IT IS SO ORDERED.

4 Dated: May 5, 2021

J PH C. SPERO

6 ief Magistrate Judge

Z 18