Zinger v. Brands
- Subramanian
- 1:24-cv-03993
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Zinger v. Bai Brands, LLC, Judge Subramanian granted a motion allowing confidential materials to be filed under seal.
Zinger, Bai Brands, LLC, Cargill, Inc., and GC Chemicals Corporation, as well as public access to the identified court filings and exhibits.
What happened
Zinger asked the Southern District of New York for permission to file portions of her opposition to Bai Brands, LLC’s summary-judgment motion under seal or with redactions. The request concerned materials designated confidential by Bai and by third parties Cargill, Inc. and GC Chemicals Corporation.
Bai maintained that its exhibits should remain sealed in full, except for limited redactions to one exhibit. Cargill identified manufacturing information as confidential, and GC Chemicals identified trade-secret and commercially sensitive information, including business-unit, pricing, and manufacturer information.
The court granted the sealing request and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion at ECF No. 107. The order was entered by Judge Arun Subramanian on October 27, 2025.
The detailed version
- Zinger v. Brands · No. 1:24-cv-03993
- Subramanian
- Oct. 27, 2025
Background
Zinger sought leave to file under seal redacted portions of her response to Bai Brands, LLC’s separate statement of undisputed facts and her memorandum opposing Bai’s motion for summary judgment. She also sought to file under seal exhibits attached to the declaration of Jack Fitzgerald. The materials had been designated “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential” by Bai, Cargill, Inc., and GC Chemicals Corporation.
The parties and third parties addressed whether the confidentiality designations should apply to entire documents or only to specific portions. Bai maintained its designations for each exhibit and stated that the exhibits should be sealed in their entirety, except that certain portions of Exhibit 43 could be redacted while the rest was filed publicly. Cargill stated that Exhibit 45 contained confidential manufacturing information not otherwise publicly available, including to competitors. GC Chemicals stated that Exhibit 46 contained trade-secret information, including information about its business units or models, proprietary pricing, and identified manufacturers.
Request and ruling
Zinger provisionally filed Exhibits 43–47, 55–57, and 59–63 under seal, along with redacted versions of her factual response and opposition memorandum. She relied on the protective order, which required confidential discovery materials and filings that disclosed such material to be filed under seal. The letter also noted that sealing decisions require balancing the public’s interest in access to judicial documents against privacy interests.
The court’s order states only: “GRANTED.” The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 107. Judge Arun Subramanian entered the order on October 27, 2025.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.