MTD Products Inc v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ( 2022 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO : MTD PRODUCTS, INC., : CASE NO. 1:21-cv-01962 : Plaintiff, : OPINION & ORDER : v. : : AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR : CO., INC., : : Defendant. : JAMES S. GWIN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE: In this case involving a lawnmower engine contract, Plaintiff MTD Products, Inc. and Defendant American Honda Motor Co., Inc. have filed redacted pleadings and motions. Defendant has moved to file the unredacted documents under seal; and a footnote in Plaintiff’s complaint indicated that it would soon file a similar motion. There is a “‘strong presumption in favor of openness’ as to court records.”1 In order to seal a document, a party must show a “compelling reason why certain documents or portions thereof should be sealed, the seal itself must be narrowly tailored to serve that reason.”2 Additionally, “the greater the public interest in the litigation's subject matter, the greater the showing necessary to overcome the presumption of access.”3 Here, the Court finds that the core of the dispute involves potentially sensitive business information and that the subject matter of the dispute is of relatively limited public interest. Accordingly, the Court ORDERS Plaintiff and Defendant to submit unredacted versions of the previously filed redacted documents under seal. The Court further ORDERS any similar future 1 , 825 F.3d 299, 305 (6th Cir. 2016) (quoting , 710 F.2d 1165, 1179 (6th Cir. 1983)). 2 documents to be filed with limited redactions on the public docket, and under seal without the redactions. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: January 20, 2022 JAMES S. GWIN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE