FuboTV Inc. v. The Walt Disney Company
- Garnett
- 1:24-cv-01363
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In FuboTV v. Disney, Judge Garnett granted Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery’s request to seal limited transcript portions containing confidential contract terms.
Fox Corporation, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., fuboTV Inc., fuboTV Media Inc., and the public seeking access to the hearing transcript.
What happened
In FuboTV Inc. v. The Walt Disney Company, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery asked the court to keep limited portions of a December 13, 2024 hearing transcript sealed and redacted. The plaintiffs took no position on the request.
The requested redactions covered confidential business information, including sensitive contract terms. The court found that disclosure could harm the parties’ competitive interests and that the proposed redactions were limited enough to preserve appropriate public access.
Judge Margaret M. Garnett granted the request and ordered the proposed redactions to be applied to the public transcript.
The detailed version
- FuboTV Inc. v. The Walt Disney Company · No. 1:24-cv-01363
- Garnett
- Jan. 2, 2025
Background
Defendants Fox Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. asked the court to keep limited portions of the transcript from a December 13, 2024 hearing under seal and in redacted form. Plaintiffs fuboTV Inc. and fuboTV Media Inc. took no position on the requested redactions.
The requested portions contained confidential business information, including confidential terms from competitively sensitive contracts. The defendants argued that disclosure could give competitors insight into the parties’ contracting practices and negotiating strategies, harming their competitive standing.
Court’s reasoning
The court applied the principle that public access to judicial documents must be balanced against legitimate privacy and business interests. It found that the transcript portions contained highly commercially sensitive and confidential information. The court also found that the proposed redactions were narrowly tailored to protect the parties’ business interests while preserving appropriate public access to the transcript.
Ruling
The court granted the request. It ordered the redactions identified in Exhibit A, as confirmed by counsel for Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, and directed that the redactions be applied to the transcript by the Southern District of New York Court Reporters. Judge Margaret M. Garnett signed the order.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.