KHN Solutions, LLC. v. Rofeer-US
- William Alsup
- 3:20-cv-07414
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
KHN Solutions v. Rofeer-US: Judge Alsup denied sealing an exhibit and ordered its public refiling.
KHN Solutions must publicly refile the exhibit, and the order makes the exhibit subject to public access rather than sealing. The exhibit concerns Amazon seller-account information associated with defendants and related sales.
What happened
In KHN Solutions LLC v. Rofeer-US, the plaintiff asked to keep private a table listing Amazon seller-account information connected to the defendants and related sales.
The court found no compelling reason to seal the exhibit. It said the information concerned issues related to the case and that a protective order did not guarantee confidentiality when documents were filed in court.
Judge William Alsup denied the sealing motion and ordered KHN Solutions to refile the exhibit publicly by noon on March 20, 2025.
The detailed version
- KHN Solutions, LLC. v. Rofeer-US · No. 3:20-cv-07414
- William Alsup
- Mar. 11, 2025
Background
KHN Solutions asked to seal an exhibit attached to a filing supporting and renewing its request for entry of default judgment. The exhibit was a table containing information about Amazon seller accounts associated with defendants and sales of products related to the case.
Court’s analysis
Because the exhibit was filed in connection with a motion related to the possible resolution of the action, the court applied the strong presumption that court records should be public. Under that standard, a party must show compelling reasons to seal the material.
The court found no compelling reasons. The filing stated that Amazon had designated parts of the spreadsheet as confidential under the court’s protective order, but the court explained that a discovery document’s confidential designation does not guarantee that it will remain confidential when filed with the court. The protective order itself also said this. The court noted that federal rules allow the last four digits of bank-account numbers to be filed without redaction and described the other information, mainly corporate contact information, as innocuous. It also emphasized the public interest in access to information relevant to alleged false advertising.
Ruling
Judge William Alsup denied the sealing motion. The court ordered KHN Solutions to refile the exhibit on the public docket in compliance with the order by noon on March 20, 2025.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.