Kaiser Aluminum Warrick, LLC v. US Magnesium LLC

Background

US Magnesium, LLC asked the court to allow it to file two exhibits under seal in connection with its opposition to Kaiser Aluminum Warrick, LLC’s motion for partial summary judgment. The request was made under the court’s standing order and individual practice rules.

The Request

US Magnesium identified Exhibits 6 and 7 to the declaration of Martin S. Krezalek. The letter described the exhibits as containing information about Kaiser’s commodity surcharge pricing mechanism, monthly revenue, and changes in commodity-surcharge revenue compared with magnesium costs under the contract price. US Magnesium also stated that the documents had been designated confidential under the protective order and contained Kaiser’s revenue and pricing information.

The letter acknowledged that the court had previously stated that it was unlikely to seal discovery material used at trial or supporting or opposing a summary-judgment motion. It nevertheless asked for sealing, citing the confidential commercial information in the exhibits. The opinion text also notes that Kaiser separately argued that sensitive pricing information could harm Kaiser or its customers if made public.

Ruling

Judge John G. Koeltl granted the application. The ruling permitted US Magnesium to file Exhibits 6 and 7 to Krezalek’s declaration under seal. The provided text does not include a separate explanation of the court’s reasoning beyond the order marking the application “GRANTED” and “SO ORDERED.”