Paez v. Akima Support Operations LLC ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ENRIQUE PAEZ, No. 2:21-cv-01920-DAD-AC 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S REQUEST TO SEAL 14 AKIMA SUPPORT OPERATIONS LLC, (Doc. No. 21) 15 Defendant. 16 17 On October 4, 2022, defendant filed a notice of its request to seal Exhibit 1-D-1 to its 18 cross-motion for summary judgment and opposition to plaintiff’s motion for partial summary 19 judgment. (Doc. No. 21.) In its request, defendant explains that there are “compelling reasons” 20 sufficient to outweigh the public’s interest in disclosure of court records because Exhibit 1-D-1 21 consists of plaintiff’s medical records pertaining to his psychiatric treatment, and thus contain 22 private, confidential, and sensitive information. (Id. at 2.) Plaintiff did not submit an opposition 23 to defendant’s request to seal. For the reasons explained below, defendant’s request will be 24 granted. 25 All documents filed with the court are presumptively public. San Jose Mercury News, 26 Inc. v. U.S. Dist. Court, 187 F.3d 1096, 1103 (9th Cir. 1999) (“It is well-established that the fruits 27 of pretrial discovery are, in the absence of a court order to the contrary, presumptively public.”). 28 “Historically, courts have recognized a ‘general right to inspect and copy public records and 1 documents, including judicial records and documents.’” Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 2 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 3 597 & n.7 (1978)). Where a party seeks to seal records attached to dispositive motions, like 4 defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment here, courts apply a “compelling reasons” 5 standard, under which: 6 the court must conscientiously balance the competing interests of the public and the party who seeks to keep certain judicial records 7 secret. After considering these interests, if the court decides to seal certain judicial records, it must base its decision on a compelling 8 reason and articulate the factual basis for its ruling, without relying on hypothesis or conjecture. 9 10 Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178–79 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The party 11 seeking to seal a judicial record bears the burden of meeting the “compelling reasons” standard. 12 Id. at 1178. “In general, ‘compelling reasons’ sufficient to . . . justify sealing court records exist 13 when such ‘court files might . . . become a vehicle for improper purposes,’ such as the use of 14 records to gratify private spite, promote public scandal, circulate libelous statements, or release 15 trade secrets.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (quoting Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598). “The mere fact 16 that the production of records may lead to a litigant’s embarrassment, incrimination, or exposure 17 to further litigation will not, without more, compel the court to seal its records.” Id. 18 “Medical records contain private, confidential, and often sensitive information, and courts 19 often order medical records to be filed under seal.” United States v. Lopez-Perez, No. 1:14-cr- 20 0045-AWI, 2021 WL 809396, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 3, 2021); see Pratt v. Gamboa, No. 17-cv- 21 04375-LHK, 2020 WL 8992141, at *2 (N.D. Cal. May 22, 2020) (noting that “medical records 22 are deemed confidential under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” and that 23 “[c]ourts routinely conclude that the need to protect medical privacy qualifies as a compelling 24 reason for sealing records”) (internal quotation marks omitted) (citing cases); see also Johnsen v. 25 Tambe, No. 19-cv-141-TSZ-MLP, 2019 WL 4014256, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 26, 2019) 26 (“find[ing] the plaintiff’s privacy interest in his own medical records to be a sufficiently 27 compelling reason to seal the medical records themselves”). Here, too, the court concludes that 28 defendant has shown that compelling reasons justify the sealing of Exhibit 1-D-1 to its cross- 1 || motion for summary judgment because that exhibit consists of plaintiff's confidential medical 2 || records. 3 Accordingly, 4 1. Defendant’s request to seal (Doc. No. 21) is granted; 5 2. Exhibit 1-D-1 to defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment and opposition 6 to plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment shall be filed under seal, for 7 access only by the court and the parties; and 8 3. Defendant shall send a pdf copy of Exhibit 1-D-1 to defendant’s cross-motion for 9 summary judgment and opposition to plaintiff's motion for partial summary 10 judgment via email to ApprovedSealed @caed.uscourts.gov for filing under seal on 11 the docket in this action. 12 IT IS SO ORDERED. | Dated: _ October 21, 2022 Da A. 2, eel 14 UNITED STATES DISTRICY JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28