Lori Jacobs v. Seattle Children’s Hospital

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE LORI JACOBS, CASE NO. C24-0874-JCC Plaintiff, ORDER v. SEATTLE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, Defendant.

15 This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s motion to seal (Dkt. No. 16). While the public has a common law right to inspect and copy public records, including those from judicial proceedings, these rights are not absolute. Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 18 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003). 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. United States v. Doe, 870 F.3d 991, 998 (9th Cir. 2017). In this instance, Plaintiff fails to meet the standard(s) above for sealing the entire record. Nevertheless, certain disclosures contained within Plaintiff’s complaint as originally filed (Dkt. No. 1) do appear to meet this standard.

24 Thus, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion in part and DENIES the motion in part and DIRECTS the Clerk to seal Plaintiff’s complaint (Dkt. No 1) and to file a redacted version of the complaint as attached herein.

1 It is so ORDERED this 8th day of December 2025.

A John C. Coughenour 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE