Robert A. Slovak v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A ( 2021 )

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 * * * 4 ROBERT A. SLOVAK, Case No. 3:13-CV-0569-MMD-CLB 5 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS TO SEAL 6 v. [ECF No. 340 & 344] 7 GOLF COURSE VILLAS HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION, et al., 8 Defendants. 9 10 Before the Court are two motions to seal. (ECF Nos. 340 & 344.) Plaintiff filed a 11 motion to file his emergency motion to continue evidentiary hearing under seal. (ECF No. 12 341.) Plaintiff’s emergency motion to continue contains medical information and records 13 of the Plaintiff, his counsel, and an expert witness. (ECF No. 341). Wells Fargo also filed 14 a motion to seal its opposition to the emergency motion to continue evidentiary hearing, 15 (ECF No. 345), due to its reference to the same medical information. (ECF No. 344.) 16 “The courts of this country recognize a general right to inspect and copy public 17 records and documents, including judicial records and documents.” Courthouse News 18 Serv. v. Planet, 947 F.3d 581, 591 (9th Cir. 2020) (quoting Courthouse News Serv. v. 19 Brown, 908 F.3d 1063, 1069 (7th Cir. 2018)). Certain documents are exceptions to this 20 right and are generally kept secret for policy reasons, including grand jury transcripts and 21 warrant materials in a pre-indictment investigation. United States v. Bus. of Custer 22 Battlefield Museum & Store Located at Interstate 90, Exit 514, S. of Billings, Mont., 658 23 F.3d 1188, 1192 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 24 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006)). 25 If a party seeks to file a document under seal, there are two possible standards the 26 party must address: the compelling reasons standard or the good cause standard. See 27 Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096-97 (9th Cir. 2016). The 28 choice between the two standards depends on whether the documents proposed for 1| sealing accompany a motion that is “more than tangentially related” to the merits of the case. /d. at 1099. If it is more than tangentially related, the compelling reasons standard applies. If not, the good cause standard applies. Cér. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1102. 4 Here, the parties seek to file documents under seal in connection with the emergency motion to continue evidentiary hearing, (ECF No. 341), which is not “more 6 | than tangentially related” to the merits of the case. In fact, it is not related to the merits of 7 | this case in any way. Therefore, the less exacting good cause standard applies. 8 Here, the referenced documents contain the sensitive health information of three 9} individuals. (ECF No. 341 & 345.) Balancing the need for the public’s access to information related to the medical history, treatment, and condition of the three individuals mentioned in the emergency motion to continue evidentiary hearing against the need to maintain the confidentiality of the individuals medical information weighs in favor of sealing these documents. For good cause appearing, the motions to seal, (ECF Nos. 340 14| &344), are GRANTED. 15 IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 DATED: August 19, 2021 □ 17 48 UNITED STATES iran JUDGE 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28