Accettola v. He
- Lewis Liman
- 1:23-cv-01983
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Accettola v. He, Judge Liman ordered public filing of a letter with five redactions while allowing its exhibits to remain sealed.
Hong Danielle Accettola, the Government, and members of the public seeking access to the court record.
What happened
In Accettola v. He, Plaintiff Hong Danielle Accettola asked to keep a prior letter sealed or to file it publicly with redactions. The Government made the same request, and Accettola joined it.
The court applied the legal test for public access to court records. It found that the presumption of access was limited because Accettola had asked the court not to consider the letter on a pending sanctions motion and stay request. The Government also identified a risk that disclosure could impair law enforcement.
Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered Accettola to file the letter publicly by July 3, 2024, with five specified redactions. The letter’s exhibits could remain sealed.
The detailed version
- Accettola v. He · No. 1:23-cv-01983
- Lewis Liman
- July 1, 2024
Background
Hong Danielle Accettola asked by letter dated June 28, 2024, to keep her prior ex parte letter at Docket Number 43 sealed or to file it publicly with redactions. The Government separately asked that the letter remain sealed or be filed with redactions. Accettola joined the Government’s request.
Legal standard
The court applied the three-step inquiry for determining whether the presumption of public access applies to a court record: whether the record is a judicial document, the weight of the public-access presumption, and the countervailing considerations against disclosure.
The court stated that the presumption of access to the letter was limited because Accettola had asked the court not to consider it in connection with a pending motion for sanctions and request for a stay. The Government also asserted that disclosure of some portions could create a danger of impairing law enforcement.
Ruling
Judge Lewis J. Liman directed Accettola to file Docket Number 43 on the public docket by July 3, 2024, with five specified redactions: portions of two paragraphs on Page 1 and portions of three paragraphs on Page 2. The exhibits to Docket Number 43 could remain under seal. This order addressed the letter’s sealing and redaction, not the underlying sanctions motion or request for a stay.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.