Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC v. Atticus, LLC ( 2022 )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA WESTERN DIVISION No. 5:19-CV-509-D SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION, LLC, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) OORDER ) ATTICUS, LLC, ) ) Defendant. ) This matter is before the court on Plaintiff’s motion to seal portions of its Response in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion and Memorandum for Leave to File a Reply in Support of its Motion to Compel Discovery. Plaintiff seeks to seal the filing on the ground it contains sensitive business information concerning Syngenta’s azoxystrobin business and communications with third parties. Plaintiff has filed a proposed redacted version of the document, omitting the portions it contends should not be available to the public. For the reasons set forth in Plaintiff’s motion and supporting memorandum, the court grants Plaintiff’s motion to seal. The court finds that the public’s common law right of access is outweighed by Plaintiff’s interests in protecting against competitive and/or financial harm were such information made public. , 743 F.2d 231 (4th Cir. 1984). Public notice of Plaintiff’s request to seal the document and a reasonable opportunity to object have been provided by the filing of its motion, and no objections have been filed with the court. Plaintiff has narrowly tailored the request to remove only information that is sensitive and confidential and not otherwise publicly known. Furthermore, the parties have since settled all matters in controversy between them. Consequently, the sealed document will not be the subject of any ruling by the court. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, it is hereby ORDERED as follows: 1. Plaintiffs Motion to Seal [DE #587] is GRANTED; and 2. Plaintiffs Response in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion and Memorandum for Leave to File a Reply in Support of its Motion to Compel Discovery [DE #586] shall be SEALED. A redacted version is available at DE #588-2. This 29th day of December 2022. Dir thaloe A Ararck KIMBERIY A. SWANK United States Magistrate Judge