MiCamp Solutions, LLC v. Visa Inc.

Background

Visa filed an administrative motion to seal Exhibit 8 to the Declaration of Sharon D. Mayo. The exhibit supported Visa’s motion to dismiss. Visa described the exhibit as a package of documents submitted to its internal “Compliant Surcharging” process and argued that it contained highly confidential, sensitive business information. Visa said disclosure would reveal its internal deliberative processes for considering rule violations and appeals.

Legal standard

Because the exhibit was attached to a dispositive motion, the court applied the “compelling reasons” standard. Under that standard, the party seeking to seal court records must identify specific reasons that outweigh the public’s strong interest in access to judicial records. The court also considered the requirement that parties explore reasonable alternatives, limit the material sealed, and explain why less restrictive measures would not be sufficient.

Court’s analysis

The court found that the exhibit contained Visa’s commercially sensitive and confidential business information. It determined that this satisfied the compelling-reasons standard and outweighed the public’s interest in viewing the documents. The court stated that disclosure of the nonpublic business information could reasonably place Visa at a competitive disadvantage. It also noted that third-party merchants, cardholders, and financial institutions identified in the exhibit had not voluntarily contributed their business information to the litigation.

Disposition

Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. granted Docket No. 45, Visa’s motion to seal Exhibit 8 to the Mayo Declaration.