Eckhart v. Fox News Network, LLC
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:20-cv-05593
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Eckhart v. Fox News Network, LLC, Judge Abrams required more detail before deciding whether to seal parts of Eckhart’s summary-judgment opposition.
Jennifer Eckhart and Fox News Network, LLC, whose requests to seal or redact portions of the summary-judgment opposition require supplemental letters by January 3, 2025.
What happened
In Eckhart v. Fox News Network, LLC, Jennifer Eckhart and Fox News asked the court to seal or redact parts of Eckhart’s opposition to summary judgment. Their letters referred generally to confidential and sensitive information but did not identify the specific material involved.
The court ordered Eckhart and Fox News to file supplemental letters by January 3, 2025. The letters must identify the information they want kept under seal, explain the legal basis for sealing it, and say whether any of the material falls within categories the court had previously approved for sealing.
Judge Ronnie Abrams did not decide the sealing request in this order. Instead, she required more specific information so the court could evaluate the requests under the standard described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga.
The detailed version
- Eckhart v. Fox News Network, LLC · No. 1:20-cv-05593
- Ronnie Abrams
- Dec. 19, 2024
Background
Jennifer Eckhart and Fox News Network, LLC sent letters asking for permission to seal or redact portions of Eckhart’s opposition to the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The letters used general references to “confidential and sensitive information,” but they did not identify the specific categories of information the parties wanted sealed or explain why the information satisfied the legal standard for sealing. The court referred to the standard described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga.
What the Court Ordered
The court ordered Eckhart and Fox News to submit supplemental letters by January 3, 2025. Each letter must identify the specific information in Eckhart’s opposition that the parties want to keep under seal and explain the legal basis for sealing that information. The parties must also state whether any of the material falls within categories of information that the court approved for sealing in its December 2, 2024 opinion.
Effect of the Order
Judge Ronnie Abrams did not grant or deny the requests to seal or redact the materials in this order. The order requires additional information before the court evaluates those requests.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.