UrthTech LLC v. Gojo Industries, Inc.
- P. Castel
- 1:22-cv-06727
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In UrthTech LLC v. GOJO Industries, Inc., Judge Castel provisionally granted GOJO’s request to seal and redact specified materials.
GOJO Industries, Inc., UrthTech LLC, Aziz Awad, and members of the public seeking access to the specified filings and exhibits.
What happened
UrthTech LLC v. GOJO Industries, Inc. concerns GOJO’s renewed request to restrict public access to documents filed with its opposition to Aziz Awad’s motion to intervene. GOJO said the materials contained confidential formulas, proprietary information, and payment amounts under agreements with UrthTech.
GOJO asked to keep Exhibit E sealed and to maintain redactions in Exhibit D and in portions of its opposition discussing Exhibit E and the agreement payments. GOJO also stated that UrthTech did not intend to keep its own disclosed information confidential, so those redactions were removed.
Judge Castel provisionally granted the application to file the materials under seal with a redacted copy on the public docket and ordered the letter motion at ECF 164 terminated.
The detailed version
- UrthTech LLC v. Gojo Industries, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-06727
- P. Castel
- Aug. 8, 2025
Background
GOJO Industries, Inc. renewed its request to file certain documents under seal in connection with its opposition to Aziz Awad’s motion to intervene. The request concerned Exhibits D and E to the Alexander Declaration, portions of GOJO’s opposition discussing those exhibits, and references to dollar amounts paid under agreements between GOJO and UrthTech LLC.
GOJO represented that Exhibit E contained formula cards and that portions of Exhibit D contained deposition testimony from a senior GOJO scientist concerning GOJO formulas and other confidential or proprietary information. GOJO also described the agreement-payment amounts as competitively sensitive. The letter stated that UrthTech did not intend to maintain confidentiality for its disclosed information, and that those redactions had been removed.
Court’s Ruling
The court applied the public-access standard discussed in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co., under which access may be restricted when countervailing factors or higher values—such as trade secrets, confidential business strategy, financial information, or other sensitive information—justify doing so. The court provisionally granted the application to file under seal with a redacted copy on the public docket. It also ordered that the letter motion at ECF 164 be terminated. The order did not state whether the provisional sealing ruling would later be made permanent.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.