A&E Television Networks, LLC v. Big Fish Entertainment, LLC
- Katherine Failla
- 1:22-cv-07411
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
A&E Television Networks v. Big Fish Entertainment: Judge Failla granted redactions and sealed a transcript containing sensitive financial information.
Defendants Big Fish Entertainment LLC, Half Moon Pictures LLC, and REELZChannel, LLC, their parent company MGM as to the referenced financial information, the parties, and the public’s access to the transcript.
What happened
In A&E Television Networks, LLC v. Big Fish Entertainment, LLC, the defendants asked the court to redact sensitive financial information from an April 17, 2024, pretrial-conference transcript. They said disclosure could cause competitive harm to them and to Big Fish’s parent company, MGM.
The court agreed that the proposed redactions were appropriate and narrowly tailored. It also ordered the version already on the docket sealed and directed court reporters to file a redacted version.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla granted the application, directed the Clerk to keep docket entry 103 sealed and accessible only to the court and parties, and directed termination of the pending motion at docket entry 106.
The detailed version
- A&E Television Networks, LLC v. Big Fish Entertainment, LLC · No. 1:22-cv-07411
- Katherine Failla
- May 28, 2024
Request
Defendants Big Fish Entertainment LLC, Half Moon Pictures LLC, and REELZChannel, LLC asked the court to redact sensitive financial information from the transcript of the April 17, 2024, pretrial conference. The defendants said the information had been designated highly confidential under the protective order because it concerned their financial information and the sensitive financial information of Big Fish’s parent company, MGM. They argued that disclosure could cause competitive harm to the defendants and MGM.
Court’s ruling
The court granted the application. It agreed with the redactions proposed by the parties and ordered that the transcript version then on the docket be sealed. The Clerk of Court was directed to maintain docket entry 103 under seal, viewable only by the court and the parties. Court reporters were directed to prepare and docket a version of the transcript with the agreed redactions, which the court adopted. The court also directed the Clerk to terminate the pending motion at docket entry 106.
Effect
The ruling limits public access to the unredacted transcript while directing that a redacted version be filed. The order addressed sealing and redaction of financial information; it did not decide the underlying claims in A&E Television Networks, LLC v. Big Fish Entertainment, LLC.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.