LL Funds Administrative Agent, LLC v. Fifth Third Bank, National Association

Background

The parties moved to seal documents filed in connection with their pretrial and post-trial memoranda of law and the transcript of their March 3, 2025, bench trial. The documents at issue were:

- Fifth Third Bank’s pretrial memorandum and supporting declarations; - LL Funds Administrative Agent, LLC’s pretrial memorandum and supporting declaration; - Fifth Third Bank’s post-trial memorandum and supporting declarations; - LL Funds Administrative Agent, LLC’s post-trial memorandum and supporting declarations; and - the March 3, 2025, bench-trial transcript.

Court’s analysis

The court applied the three-part test governing requests to seal court records. First, it asked whether the materials were judicial documents subject to a presumed right of public access. Second, it assessed the strength of that presumption. Third, it balanced public access against competing interests, including privacy and the protection of confidential information.

The court determined that all of the materials were judicial documents because they were relevant to the court’s work and useful in deciding the parties’ claims. Because the memoranda and transcript concerned a bench trial, they were entitled to a strong presumption of public access.

The parties represented that the proposed redactions concerned confidential information about mediation and settlement discussions between Fifth Third Bank and a coalition of state attorneys general. The court’s review confirmed that representation. It found that the proposed redactions were limited and specifically targeted information about those confidential discussions, making them sufficiently narrow to overcome the presumption of access.

Ruling

The court ordered that the sealing motions at Docket Numbers 56, 60, 68, 80, 83, 86, and 87 were GRANTED. The clerk was directed to close those motions.