Brown v. Google LLC

4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CHASOM BROWN, et al., Case No. 20-cv-03664-LHK (SVK) 8 Plaintiffs, ORDER ON ADMINISTRATIVE 9 v. MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL 10 GOOGLE LLC, Re: Dkt. No. 295 11 Defendant.

12 Before the Court is Google’s administrative motion to file under seal portions of the Parties’ joint letter brief regarding their privilege log dispute. Dkt. No. 295.

14 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 16 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 19 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 Rule 79-5.

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 motion to seal, supporting declaration, and the pleadings on file, and good cause appearing, the Court || ORDERS as follows: Court’s Ruling 8 on Motion to Reason(s) for Court’s Ruling Sealed Seal 9 Joint Submission GRANTED as to Narrowly tailored to protect redacted portions at | confidential and proprietary 10 . . . , pages 3, 4 information regarding Google’s 11 internal systems and operations, including details related to internal a identifiers and projects, that Google maintains as confidential in the 13 ordinary course of its business and 14 is not generally known to the public or Google’s competitors.

SO ORDERED. a 16 Dated: October 27, 2021 = 17 S □□□ f Z 18 19 SUSAN VAN KEULEN United States Magistrate Judge