Heaven v. Boeing Commercial Airplanes ( 2021 )

HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES 1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 8 ASHLEY DEAN HEAVEN, 9 Plaintiff, 10 Case No. 2:21-cv-01047-RAJ v. 11 ORDER DENYING MOTION TO SEAL BOEING COMMERCIAL AIRPLANES, 12 Defendant. 13 14 15 This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s motion to seal. Dkt. # 3. 16 Plaintiff requests that the Court seal the case entirely. 17 “Historically, courts have recognized a ‘general right to inspect and copy public 18 records and documents, including judicial records and documents.’” Kamakana v. City & 19 Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner 20 Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 & n.7 (1978)). Accordingly, when considering a 21 sealing request, “a strong presumption in favor of access is the starting point.” Id. 22 (internal quotation marks omitted). 23 Generally, two standards govern the sealing of court records. Pintos v. Pac. 24 Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 678 (9th Cir. 2010). A “compelling reasons” standard 25 applies to most judicial records, including those attached to dispositive motions. Id.; see 26 also Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. On the other hand, a “good cause” standard applies to 27 nondispositive motions. Pintos, 605 F.3d at 678. 1 Plaintiff’s sealing motion, measuring just one sentence long, does not attempt to 2 meet either the compelling reasons or good cause standard. And, on this record, the 3 Court finds no reason to seal the court records under either. 4 For the reasons stated above, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s motion to seal. 5 Dkt. # 3. The Clerk is directed to unseal the docket in this matter. 6 7 DATED this 8th day of December, 2021. A 8 9 The Honorable Richard A. Jones United States District Judge 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27