Belt v. City of Rapid City

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA WESTERN DIVISION WILLIAM BELT, 5:24-CV-05021-RAL Plaintiff, ORDER TO SEAL vs. CITY OF RAPID CITY, MICHELLE PAULSON, WHO IS SUED IN HER OFFICIAL AND INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY; Defendants.

The Court has been made aware that a document containing identifying information of a juvenile has been filed in this case. This Court’s local rules require that parties “refrain from including, or must partially redact where inclusion is necessary . .. personal data identifters[,]” including full names of individuals known to be a minor and dates of birth, “from all pleadings and papers filed, including exhibits thereto, unless otherwise ordered by the court.” D.S.D. Civ. LR 5.2(A). Several courts have held that courts may sua sponte order that documents be sealed or redacted when the documents contain sensitive identifying information.

Middlebrooks v. Equifax, Inc., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38416, at *2~3 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 20, 2023) (collecting cases). Thus, this Court sua sponte orders the Clerk of Court to seal the attachment.

For good cause, it is hereby ORDERED that the Affidavit of Terra M. Larson in Response to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, Doc. 41, and attachment, Doc. 41-1, be sealed until further order of the Court.

DATED this Ist day of April, 2025.

BY THE COURT: ROBERTO A. ee CHIEF JUDGE