Stone Brewing Co., LLC v. Molson Coors Brewing Company ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 STONE BREWING CO., LLC, Case No.: 3:18-cv-00331-BEN-JMA 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS 13 v. FOR LEAVE TO FILE CERTAIN DECLARATIONS AND EXHIBITS 14 MOLSON COORS BREWING CO., UNDER SEAL AND DENYING AS MILLERCOORS LLC, and DOES 1 15 MOOT PLAINTIFF’S EX PARTE through 25, inclusive, MOTION 16 Defendants. 17 [ECF Nos. 378, 381, 386, 389, 392, 395, and 401] 18 19 Concurrent with the Parties’ briefing on their respective Motions in Limine, the 20 Parties moved to file under seal certain portions of their briefs, declarations, and 21 supporting exhibits. 22 The portions of the briefs, declarations, and exhibits sought to be sealed contain, 23 reference, or discuss commercially sensitive and proprietary business data. These 24 documents have been previously designated “Confidential,” “Confidential – Attorneys’ 25 Eyes Only,” or “Privileged” pursuant to the Protective Order issued in this case. See ECF 26 No. 54. Specifically, these exhibits contain business information including detailed 27 business strategy and detailed agreements with third parties. 28 1 “(C]ompelling reasons sufficient to outweigh the public’s interest in disclosure and 2 || justify sealing court records exist when such court files might .. . become a vehicle for 3 ||improper purposes, such as the use of records to .. . release trade secrets.” Kamakana v. 4 || City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2006). A “trade secret may 5 || consist of any formula, pattern, device or compilation of information which is used in 6 || one’s business, and which gives him an opportunity to obtain an advantage over 7 || competitors who do not know or use it.” The Court can seal proprietary information to 8 || protect a business from potential harm. See Obesity Research Institute, LLC v. Fiber 9 || Research International, LLC, No. 15-CV-00595-BAS-MDD, 2017 WL 6270268, at *2 10 || (S.D. Cal. Dec. 8, 2017) (granting motion to file documents containing proprietary 11 || business information under seal). 12 Accordingly, the motions to seal ace GRANTED. Redacted versions of the 13 || aforementioned documents have been filed on the public docket. The Clerk is directed to 14 || file unredacted versions of the documents and exhibits lodged at Docket Numbers 380, 15 || 382, 388, 390, 394, and 396 under seal. The Court has addressed the relief requested in 16 || Plaintiff's Ex Parte Motion (ECF No. 401). See Minute Order, ECF No. 410. The 17 ||remaining relief requested but not addressed in the Minute Order is DENIED. 18 IT IS SO ORDERED. 20 DATED: October 29, 2020 on. Roger T. Benitez 21 United States District Court 22 23 24 25 26 27 28