1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 LORI BELTRAN, et al., No. 2:23-cv-01670-DC-CKD 12 Plaintiffs, 13 v. ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ REQUEST TO SEAL 14 DOCTORS MEDICAL CENTER OF MODESTO, et al., (Doc. No. 49) 15 Defendants. 16 17 On June 30, 2025, Plaintiffs filed a request to file under seal their unredacted first 18 amended class action complaint and file publicly a redacted version of their amended class action 19 complaint. (Doc. No. 49.) Plaintiffs assert that redactions to portions of the first amended class 20 action complaint they intend to file are required because Plaintiffs’ allegations include sensitive 21 and private information relating to Plaintiffs’ past and present health conditions, diagnoses, and 22 healthcare. (Id. at 2.) Defendants did not submit any opposition to Plaintiffs’ request to seal. For 23 the reasons explained below, the court will grant Plaintiffs’ request to file under seal their 24 unredacted amended class action complaint. 25 The court recognizes that all documents filed with the court are presumptively public. San 26 Jose Mercury News, Inc. v. U.S. Dist. Court,

, 1103 (9th Cir. 1999) (“It is well- 27 established that the fruits of pretrial discovery are, in the absence of a court order to the contrary, 28 presumptively public.”). However, courts may permit a party to file under seal documents, such 1 as a complaint and exhibits thereto, where that party shows “compelling reasons” to support 2 maintaining secrecy of those documents. Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu,

, 3 1178 (9th Cir. 2006); Fed. Trade Comm’n v. S. Glazers Wine & Spirits, LLC, No. 8:24-cv-02684- 4 FWS-ADS,

, at *1 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 4, 2025) (applying “compelling reasons” 5 standard to a request to seal the complaint and explaining that “because a complaint is ‘the 6 foundation of a lawsuit,’ the court concludes that it is more than ‘tangentially related to merits’ of 7 the case”) (citation omitted). “In general, ‘compelling reasons’ sufficient to . . . justify sealing 8 court records exist when such ‘court files might . . . become a vehicle for improper purposes,’ 9 such as the use of records to gratify private spite, promote public scandal, circulate libelous 10 statements, or release trade secrets.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (quoting Nixon v. Warner 11 Commc’ns, Inc.,

, 597 & n.7 (1978)). “The mere fact that the production of records 12 may lead to a litigant’s embarrassment, incrimination, or exposure to further litigation will not, 13 without more, compel the court to seal its records.”

14 “Medical records contain private, confidential, and often sensitive information, and courts 15 often order medical records to be filed under seal.” United States v. Lopez-Perez, No. 1:14-cr- 16 0045-AWI,

, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 3, 2021); see also Cousin v. Sharp 17 Healthcare, No. 3:22-cv-02040-MMA-DDL,

, at *1 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 14, 2023) 18 (granting motion to file portions of amended complaint containing confidential and sensitive 19 health information under seal); Pratt v. Gamboa, No. 17-cv-04375-LHK,

, at 20 *2 (N.D. Cal. May 22, 2020) (noting that “medical records are deemed confidential under the 21 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” and that “[c]ourts routinely conclude that 22 the need to protect medical privacy qualifies as a compelling reason for sealing records”) (internal 23 quotation marks omitted) (citing cases). 24 Here, the court finds Plaintiffs have shown compelling reasons exist to grant their request 25 to seal given the confidential and sensitive personal health information contained in their 26 proposed first amended class action complaint. In addition, the court has reviewed the proposed 27 redactions and finds them to be narrowly tailored to protect Plaintiffs’ personal health information 28 from public disclosure. The court will therefore grant Plaintiffs’ request to seal. 1 Accordingly, 2 1. Plaintiffs’ request to seal (Doc. No. 49) is GRANTED; 3 2. Within three (3) days from the date of this order, Plaintiffs shall file a redacted 4 version of their first amended class action complaint; and 5 3, Within three (3) days from the date of this order, Plaintiffs shall also email a PDF 6 copy of the unredacted version of their first amended class action complaint to 7 ApprovedSealed @caed.uscourts.gov for filing under seal on the docket in this 8 case. 9 10 IT IS SO ORDERED. | pated: _ July 25,2025 LY x 12 Dena Coggins B United States District Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28