Regel v. Campbell Soup Company

Background

Plaintiff Sean A. Regel asked the court to allow certain exhibits attached to the declaration supporting his opposition to Defendants’ motion for summary judgment to be filed under seal, with viewing access limited to selected parties. The defendants consented to the request. The materials had been designated confidential under the parties’ confidentiality stipulation or by nonparty subpoena recipients.

The exhibits included contracts between defendants and nonparties, documents describing nonparties’ internal policies, terms and conditions of purchase, and standards of engagement. The parties argued that the documents should be sealed because of their confidential content and the privacy and business interests of the nonparties.

Legal Standard

The court explained that materials filed in connection with a motion for summary judgment are judicial documents subject to the common-law and First Amendment rights of public access. A confidentiality agreement or protective order, by itself, is not enough to justify sealing. However, privacy and business interests of nonparties may outweigh the public’s common-law right of access and may qualify as interests supporting narrowly tailored redactions under the First Amendment analysis.

Ruling

The court granted the sealing request. It found that each document implicated nonparties’ privacy and business interests because the documents contained information about their business arrangements and the terms of those arrangements. The court concluded that those interests overcame the common-law right of access and that the redactions were narrowly tailored and no greater than necessary to protect the nonparties’ privacy interests. Judge Kenneth M. Karas therefore allowed the identified materials to remain under seal.