(PC) Mora v. Petras ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RUBEN EDWARD MORA, Case No. 2:20-cv-00749-KJM-JDP (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO SEAL 13 v. ECF Nos. 53 & 54 14 O. PETRAS, 15 Defendant. 16 17 Defendant moves to seal exhibits B, C, and D to the declaration of Deputy Attorney 18 General Norman D. Morrison IV—submitted in support of defendant’s pending motion for 19 summary judgment—because they include plaintiff’s medical and prison records. ECF No. 54. 20 Defendant filed a similar motion, ECF No. 39, which the court denied because such records are 21 routinely filed on the public docket in Eighth Amendment medical indifference cases. ECF No. 22 49. The court acknowledged in its order that medical records can be sealed, but found that 23 defendant had not advanced compelling reasons for sealing. See Kamakana v. City & Cty. of 24 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179-80 (9th Cir. 2006). The court ordered defendant either to renew 25 his motion or to stipulate to filing the records on the public docket. 26 Defendant now renews his motion, citing the Health Insurance Portability and 27 Accountability Act and plaintiff’s privacy as compelling reasons to seal. ECF No. 54. Plaintiff 28 opposes defendant’s motion and explicitly states that he does not want his records sealed as they 1 || are the basis of his case. ECF No. 55. Given that the defendant’s primary argument to seal was 2 | plaintiff's own privacy interest, the court will deny defendant’s motion. Cf Johnsen v. Tambe, 3 || No. 19-141-TSZ-MLP, 2019 WL 4014256, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 26, 2019) (finding that the 4 | “[p]laintiff’s privacy interest in his own medical records [is] a sufficiently compelling reason to 5 || seal the medical records”). 6 Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that: 7 1. Defendant’s motion to seal documents, ECF Nos. 53 & 54, is denied. 8 2. The Clerk of Court is instructed to file on the public docket exhibits B, C, and D to the 9 || declaration of Deputy Attorney General Norman D. Morrison IV. 10 IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 ( 1 SY. Dated: _ January 14, 2022 \E ee 13 JEREMY D. PETERSON 14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28