ViaHart, LLC v. Creative Kids Online, LLC, et al.
- Gregory Woods
- 1:20-cv-09943
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In ViaHart v. Creative Kids Online, Judge Woods ordered witness lists made public because nothing defeated public access.
The parties whose proposed witness lists were filed under seal, and members of the public seeking access to those filings.
What happened
ViaHart, LLC v. Creative Kids Online, LLC involved proposed witness lists that the parties filed under seal after the court ordered final lists for trial.
The court found nothing in the recent filings that overcame the usual presumption that judicial documents should be publicly accessible. The parties had also previously filed a joint list of possible witnesses publicly.
Judge Gregory H. Woods directed the Clerk of Court to change the viewing level of the two filings so the public could view them.
The detailed version
- ViaHart, LLC v. Creative Kids Online, LLC, et al. · No. 1:20-cv-09943
- Gregory Woods
- Oct. 13, 2025
Background
The court had ordered the parties to file a final list of people who might testify at trial by September 1, 2025. On that date, the parties filed their proposed witness lists under seal without first asking the court for permission. The parties had previously filed a joint list of possible witnesses publicly.
Public Access
The court reviewed the recent filings and found nothing that would overcome the presumption that judicial documents should be available to the public.
Ruling
Judge Gregory H. Woods directed the Clerk of Court to change the viewing level of the documents filed at Docket Nos. 309 and 311 so that the public could view them.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.