Railware, Inc. v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation ( 2024 )

Y EINADLE ue 12123075600 2123075698 wwwVenabiecom May 20, 2024 Ralph A. Dengler T: 212.503.0655 F: 212.307.5598 E: radengler@venable.com By ECF & Email to Failla NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov Honorable Katherine Polk Failla United States District Judge United States District Court for the Southern District of New York 40 Foley Square, Room 2103 MEMO ENDORS! New York, New York 10007 Re: Railware, Inc. v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation dba Amtrak, 1:22-cv-05013 (KPF) Letter for Discovery Conference to Compel Documents and Interrogatory Responses Dear Judge Failla, We represent Amtrak in the above-referenced litigation. Pursuant to Your Honor’s Individual Practice Rule 9(B), Amtrak respectfully requests leave to file under seal the below information designated under the Protective Order (ECF No. 108): 1. Amtrak’s Letter for Discovery Conference to Compel Documents and Interrogatory Responses: certain highlighted portions contain Railware’s discovery that it designated as Highly Confidential — Attorneys’ Eyes Only (“HCAEO”) from Exhibit B below. 2. Exhibit B: Railware discovery that it designated HCAEO. Amtrak asked Railware via email on Friday, May 17, 2024 for Railware’s position on this sealing request, but Railware has not responded to Amtrak as of our filing this Letter Motion to Seal. It is well-settled that any redaction or sealing of a court filing must be narrowly tailored to serve whatever purpose justifies the redaction or sealing and must be otherwise consistent with the presumption in favor of public access to judicial documents. See, e.g., Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110, 119-20 (2d Cir. 2006). The preservation of sensitive business information has been found to warrant sealing. Averbach v. Cairo Amman Bank, No. 19-CV-0004- GHW-KHP, 2023 WL 4144758, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. June 23, 2023); see also Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A. v. Sunny Merchandise Corp., 97 F. Supp. 3d 485, 511 (S.D.N.Y. 2015). A sealing request is “narrowly tailored” when it seeks to seal only that information that must be sealed to preserve higher values. Susquehanna Int’l Grp. Ltd. v. Hibernia Express (Ir.) Ltd., No. 21 Civ. 207 (PGG), 2021 WL 3540221, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 11, 2021). Amtrak’s Letter for a discovery conference references Railware HCAEO information designated under the Protective Order (ECF No. 108). See No. 1 above. Amtrak also seeks to seal an exhibit containing such Railware HCAEO information. See No. 2 above. Thus, Amtrak has narrowly tailored its redactions. VENABLEx Page 2 Accordingly, Amtrak respectfully requests that the Court grant its request to seal the highlighted portions of Amtrak’s Letter (No. 1 above) and Exhibit B (No. 2 above) in their entirety. We appreciate the Court’s courtesies and consideration. Respectfully Submitted, /s/Ralph A. Dengler Ralph A. Dengler cc: Counsel for Amtrak Application GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is directed to maintain docket entry 128 under seal, viewable to the Court and the parties only. The Clerk of Court is further directed to terminate the pending motion at docket entry 126. Dated: May 21, 2024 SO ORDERED. New York, New York HON. KATHERINE POLK FAILLA UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE