Anstead v. Virginia Mason Medical Center

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE AMY ANSTEAD, CASE NO. C21-0447-JCC Plaintiff, ORDER 11 v. VIRGINIA MASON MEDICAL CENTER, et al., Defendants.

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s unopposed motion to seal (Dkt. No. 194)the exhibits attached to the Declaration of Elizabeth A. Hanley (Dkt. No. 195) in Support of Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. (Dkt. No. 189.) While the public has a common law right to inspect and copy public records, including those from judicial proceedings, these rights are not absolute. They must yield when (1) sealing a document serves a compelling interest, (2) that is substantially likely to be harmed if the document is not sealed, and (3)there are no less restrictive alternatives for protecting the interest. See United States v. Doe, 870 F.3d 991, 998 (9th Cir. 2017). Given the sensitive nature of the medical health information and non-public data contained in the exhibits at issue, these criteria are met here. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion to seal (Dkt. No. 194) is GRANTED and the Clerk is DIRECTED to maintain Docket Number 195 under seal.

1 DATED this 27th day of June 2023.

A John C. Coughenour 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE