Becton, Dickinson and Company v. Beckman Coulter, Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Nita Stormes (author)
Analysis
Defendant Beckman Coulter, Inc. moved to file under seal certain documents and exhibits related to a joint discovery dispute, asserting that they contained confidential technical and business information. The Court granted the motion, finding that the defendant made a particularized showing of good cause.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Defendant's Motion to File Under Seal (ECF No. 79) is granted.“Good cause appearing, the Court GRANTS the motion to seal the requested documents, as specified above.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the standard from Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, requiring a particularized showing of good cause for sealing non-dispositive motions. The order recites the specific categories of information (confidential technical and business information) and the specific harm (economic and competitive harm) that would result from disclosure, which satisfies the requirement for a particularized showing rather than a general assertion of confidentiality. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It identifies the correct legal standard for sealing non-dispositive motions in the Ninth Circuit and applies it to the specific facts presented by the defendant. The court explicitly notes that the defendant identified specific exhibits and the nature of the confidential information, thereby satisfying the 'particularized showing' requirement. There are no significant gaps in the reasoning for this specific procedural ruling.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 BECTON, DICKINSON AND Case No.: 21cv1173-CAB (NLS) COMPANY; SIRIGEN, INC; and 12 ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S SIRIGEN II LIMITED, MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL 13 Plaintiffs, 14 [ECF No. 79] v. 15 BECKMAN COULTER, INC., 16 Defendant. 17 18 Before the Court is Defendant Beckman Coulter, Inc.’s motion to file under seal 19 certain documents related to the parties’ Joint Motion for Determination of Discovery 20 Dispute No. 1. ECF No. 79. Specifically, Defendant seeks to file under seal the 21 following documents: 22 1. Portions of the Joint Memorandum of Points and Authorities for 23 Determination of Discovery Dispute No. 1; 24 2. Exhibits 1-7 supporting the Joint Motion for Determination of Discovery 25 Dispute. 26 A party requesting that the court seal materials attached to a non-dispositive 27 motion must make a particularized showing of good cause. Kamakana v. City and Cnty. 28 1 || of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006). Here, Defendant states that Exhibits 1, 2 ||2, 2A, 4, 5, and 7 contain its confidential technical information and public disclosure of 3 ||such information would cause economic and competitive harm. ECF No. 79 at 3. In 4 || addition, Defendant states that Exhibits 1, 2, 2A, 3, and 6 contain its confidential business 5 ||information and public disclosure of such information would also cause competitive 6 |}harm. /d. at 3-4. Defendant also seeks to file under seal portions of the memorandum 7 reference such information. /d. at 4. 8 Good cause appearing, the Court GRANTS the motion to seal the requested 9 documents, as specified above. 10 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: January 20, 2022 ZO 13 Hon. Nita L. Stormes 14 United States Magistrate Judge 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28