Intuit Inc. v. H&R Block, Inc.

Background

Intuit filed an administrative motion to seal portions of transcripts from the September 30 and October 1, 2024 preliminary-injunction hearing and exhibits introduced at that hearing. Intuit sought to seal material concerning its provision of an expert final review to TurboTax Live Assisted customers, including competitively sensitive training materials, information about tools used by Intuit’s tax experts, and confidential business data and metrics.

Legal standard

The court explained that judicial records generally carry a strong presumption of public access. Because the preliminary-injunction motion was more than tangentially related to the merits of the lawsuit, Intuit had to show compelling reasons that outweighed the public’s interest in access. Intuit also had to explain the interests supporting sealing, the harm that could result from disclosure, and why a less restrictive alternative would not be sufficient. The proposed sealing had to be narrowly tailored.

Court’s analysis

The court found compelling reasons to seal the identified material. It treated confidential training materials, confidential and competitively sensitive business data and metrics, and confidential and proprietary tax-expert tools as material supporting sealing. The court also found that the proposed redactions were narrowly tailored.

Ruling

Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted Intuit’s administrative motion to seal. The ruling approved sealing the entirety of the identified exhibits, including Intuit Exhibits 8, 12, 17, 71, and 78 and Block Exhibit 18. It also approved sealing the highlighted portions identified in the September 30 transcript at ECF No. 149 and the October 1 transcript at ECF No. 150. The order stated that the sealed portions contained sensitive tax-expert training and tool information or confidential business data and metrics.