Finjan LLC v. ESET, LLC
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Bernard G. Skomal (author)
Analysis
The parties filed a joint motion to seal five exhibits submitted in support of a joint statement regarding further relief in a discovery dispute. The court granted the motion, finding good cause to file the exhibits under seal.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Joint Motion to File Under Seal Exhibits to Joint Statement Re Further Relief granted“Based on the foregoing, the Court finds good cause to GRANT the Joint Motion.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the 'good cause' standard required by Ninth Circuit precedent for sealing documents filed in support of non-dispositive discovery motions. The record recites specific facts—sensitive financial data, licensing strategies, and confidential agreement terms—demonstrating that public disclosure would harm the party's competitive position, which satisfies the good cause requirement. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the applicable legal standard for sealing discovery exhibits and applies it to the specific facts provided in the supporting declaration. The reasoning is concise but sufficient for a procedural sealing order.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 FINJAN, LLC., Case No.: 17-cv-183-CAB-BGS 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT 13 v. MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL EXHIBITS TO JOINT STATEMENT 14 ESET, LLC and ESET SPOL. SR.O., RE FURTHER RELIEF 15 Defendants. 16 [ECF 901] 17 18 19 Before the Court is the parties’ Joint Motion to File Under Seal Exhibits to Joint 20 Statement Re Further Relief. (ECF 901). It seeks to file five exhibits that were submitted 21 in support of the parties’ Joint Statement (ECF 903) under seal—Exhibits 1, 2, and 3 to 22 the Declaration of Nicola A. Pisano (“Pisano Decl.”) and Exhibits A and B to the 23 Declaration of Nicole Williams (“Williams Decl.”). (ECF 901.) The Joint Statement these 24 exhibits were filed in support of, and other exhibits were filed publicly. (ECF 903.) 25 Because the documents the parties seek to file under seal were filed in support of 26 briefing on a discovery dispute, their request to file under seal is subject to a showing of 27 good cause. See Kamankana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1179-80 (9th 28 Cir. 2003) (distinguishing between filing documents under seal in support of a non- | dispositive discovery motion, subject to good cause, and filing documents under seal in 2 support of a dispositive motion, subject to compelling reasons standard); see also Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135-37 (9th Cir. 2003). 4 In support of sealing these exhibits, counsel for Finjan has submitted a declaration. 5 (Decl. of K. Nicole Williams in Support of Parties’ Joint Motion to File Documents 6 || Under Seal (“Williams Decl. in Support of Sealing”) [ECF 901-1].) The declaration 7 explains that Exhibits 1-3 contain highly sensitive business information such as non- 8 public financial figures as well as licensing, acquisition, and litigation strategy, and 9 || Exhibits A and B contain highly sensitive financial figures and confidential agreement 10 Il terms. (Id. §§| 4-5.) Counsel also explains that these exhibits are confidentially 11 || maintained by Finjan in its regular course of business and that their public disclosure 12 could harm Finjan’s business and competitive positions. (/d. 4 6.) Additionally, the Court 13 || has reviewed the exhibits. 14 Based on the foregoing, the Court finds good cause to GRANT the Joint Motion. || The Clerk shall file these exhibits under seal. 16 17 IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 Dated: April 3, 2023 7 2 p / / 19 on. Bernard G. Skomal 20 United States Magistrate Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28