Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Lexeo Therapeutics, Inc.
- P. Castel
- 1:23-cv-09000
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Rocket Pharmaceuticals v. Lexeo Therapeutics, Judge Castel granted the parties’ motion to seal confidential portions of a discovery exhibit.
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Lexeo Therapeutics, Inc.; the ruling keeps specified confidential portions of their discovery exhibit from public access.
What happened
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Lexeo Therapeutics, Inc. involved a joint request to keep under seal an unredacted discovery exhibit containing the parties’ responses and objections to interrogatories. Rocket identified confidential information about its PKP2 gene-therapy program, while Lexeo identified confidential research, trade-secret, licensing, employment, device, acquisition, and clinical-trial information.
The parties argued that the exhibit was a court filing connected to a discovery dispute and therefore received a lower presumption of public access. They also argued that disclosure could cause competitive harm and that the redacted public version was the least restrictive way to protect the information.
Judge Castel granted the joint letter motion to seal after reviewing the redacted and unredacted versions and finding that the parties met the legal requirements for sealing the redacted portions.
The detailed version
- Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Lexeo Therapeutics, Inc. · No. 1:23-cv-09000
- P. Castel
- Feb. 6, 2025
Background
The parties jointly asked the court to seal Exhibit B to Lexeo Therapeutics, Inc.’s opposition to a motion by Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Exhibit B contained responses and objections to Rocket’s interrogatories. A redacted version was filed publicly at ECF No. 173-2, while the unredacted version was filed under seal at ECF No. 172-2.
Rocket sought protection for pages and portions containing confidential business and development information about its strategic partners and PKP2 gene-therapy program. Lexeo sought protection for information concerning its gene-therapy research and development, a trade secret asserted in its counterclaims, license agreements, internal employment decisions, electronic devices, an acquisition of Stelios Therapeutics, Inc., and an ongoing clinical trial. Each party did not oppose the other’s request to seal the identified information.
Legal Standard
The court applied the presumption of public access to judicial documents. It considered whether the exhibit was a judicial document, the strength of the public-access presumption, and whether countervailing interests outweighed public access. Confidential commercial information may justify sealing when specific findings show that sealing is necessary to protect a higher interest and is narrowly tailored. Lexeo argued that the exhibit was tied to discovery disputes rather than dispositive issues, making the presumption of access weaker.
Ruling
The joint letter motion to seal was granted. After reviewing the redacted and unredacted versions of the exhibit, Judge Castel found that the parties had met their burden under the applicable legal precedent for sealing the redacted portions. The public redacted version remained available, and the ruling protected the confidential portions identified in the motion.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.