Shotwell v. Zillow Group, Inc

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE 9 CASE NO. C17-1387-JCC IN RE ZILLOW GROUP, INC. SECURITIES LITIGATION ORDER 15 This matter comes before the Court on Defendants’ unopposed motion to seal (Dkt. No. 147). The Court starts from the position that “[t]here is a strong presumption of public access to [its] files.” W.D. Wash. Local Civ. R. 5(g)(3); see Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 18 589, 597 (1978). To overcome that presumption, the movant must show that there are “compelling reasons” to seal the documents at issue. See Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101 (9th Cir. 2016) (holding that the “compelling reasons” standard applies to any motion that “is more than tangentially related to the merits of a case”).

22 Defendants request that the Court maintain under seal unredacted copies of its opposition to Plaintiff’s motion to compel as well as related a related declaration and exhibits. (Dkt. Nos. 149, 151.) Defendants have filed a redacted version of the declaration. (Dkt. No. 150.) The Court recently granted Plaintiffs’ motion to seal (Dkt. No. 146) documents containing “confidential” and “highly confidential” information, pursuant to the protective order governing discovery (Dkt.

1 No. 76). The same reasons for sealing those documents apply here. The Court thus finds compelling reasons to seal them.

3 Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the motion to seal (Dkt. No. 147) and DIRECTS the Clerk to maintain Docket Numbers 149, 151, 151-1, and 151-2 under seal until further order of the Court.

6 DATED this 23rd day of June 2022.

A John C. Coughenour 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE