Medimpact Healthcare Systems, Inc. v. IQVIA Holdings Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Gonzalo P. Curiel (author)
Analysis
Plaintiffs moved to seal two exhibits to a declaration, which contained excerpts from Rule 30(b)(6) deposition transcripts discussing confidential policies on electronic information preservation. The court granted the motion, ordering the exhibits sealed until further order.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Plaintiffs' Motion to File Under Seal (ECF No. 796) is granted.“Based on the foregoing, the Court finds that there are compelling reasons to GRANT the Motion. It is ORDERED that Exhibits shall be SEALED until further order of this Court.” | agree with court The court applied the 'compelling reasons' standard, which is the correct standard for sealing documents in a civil case under Ninth Circuit precedent (e.g., Kamakana). The court found that the exhibits contained proprietary and sensitive information regarding highly regulated preservation practices, which constitutes a compelling reason to prevent public disclosure. The decision follows from the law and the record recited in the order. |
The order itself: sound with gaps — The order correctly identifies the standard ('compelling reasons') and applies it to the specific facts (proprietary/sensitive information in a regulated industry). It cites a relevant district court case. While it does not cite the specific Ninth Circuit precedent (e.g., Kamakana) that establishes the 'compelling reasons' standard, the application of the standard is correct and the result is defensible.
Opinion
1 2 3 A 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 MEDIMPACT HEALTHCARE Case No. 3:19-cv-01865-GPC-DEB 11 | SYSTEMS, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION; MEDIMPACT ORDER GRANTING 12 | INTERNATIONAL LLC, A PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO FILE CALIFORNIA LIMITED UNDER SEAL 13 | LIABILITY COMPANY; AND MEDIMPACT INTERNATIONAL 14 | HONG KONG LTD., A HONG KONG COMPANY Judge: The Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel 15 , 16 Plaintiffs, [ECF No. 795] 17 Vv. IQVIA INC., a Delaware corporation; 18 | IOVIA LTD., a UK company: IQVIA AG, a Swiss company; OMAR 19 | GHOSHEH, individually; and AMIT SADANA, individually; and DOES 1- 20 || 20, 21 Defendants. 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Case No. 3:19-cv-01865-GPC-DEB 1 Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Motions to Seal Documents in Support of 2 || Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Defendants’ Rule 72(a) Objection and Motion to Set Aside 3 || Magistrate Judge’s Order Denying Defendants’ Motion for Sanctions (the 4 || “Motion”). (ECF No. 796.) 5 The Motion seeks to seal Exhibits 6 and 7 to the Declaration of Jennifer 6 |} Bennett in support of Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Defendants’ Rule 72(a) Objection 7 || and Motion to Set Aside Magistrate Judge’s Order Denying Defendants’ Motion for 8 || Sanctions. Exhibit 6 exhibit is an excerpted copy a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition 9 || transcript. The witness was Dale Brown on behalf of Plaintiff MedImpact. Exhibit 7 10 | is an excerpted copy a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition transcript. The witness was Krishna 11 | Guttikonda on behalf of Plaintiff MedImpact. Both exhibits have been designated 12 | as highly confidential under the protective order governing this case. Both exhibits 13 || discuss Plaintiffs’ confidential policies and procedures regarding the preservation of 14 | electronic information. Plaintiffs do business in an industry where the preservation 15 || and confidentiality of information is highly regulated. Thus, Plaintiffs practices 16 || with respect to preservation and confidentiality are both proprietary and sensitive. 17 Accordingly, the disclosure of this information would subject Plaintiffs and 18 || Defendants to a risk of substantial harm or prejudice. See McArdle v. AT&T 19 || Mobility LLC, No. 09-cv-1117, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 218070, at *13-14 (N.D. 20 || Cal. Aug. 13, 2018). 21 Based on the foregoing, the Court finds that there are compelling reasons to 22 || GRANT the Motion. It is ORDERED that Exhibits shall be SEALED until further 23 || order of this Court. 24 IT IS SO ORDERED. 25 06 Dated: January 10, 2023 C2. sale (0 7 Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel 28 United States District Judge Cd Case No. 3:19-ev-01865-GPC-DEB