Simmons v. Mischel

Background

Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint or, alternatively, for summary judgment. In connection with that motion, they filed an administrative motion asking to seal Attachment 11 to the declaration of Jacquelyn Herrera under Civil Local Rule 79-5. Joyce Simmons did not respond to the motion to seal.

Sealing Standard

The court explained that judicial records accompanying dispositive motions generally carry a strong presumption of public access. That presumption can be overcome by “compelling reasons” supported by specific factual findings. Documents connected only indirectly to the merits may instead be sealed under the lower “good cause” standard.

Here, the court found that the attachment was related to the merits, so the compelling-reasons standard applied. The attachment contained Simmons’s medical records, including information unrelated to the injuries she alleged in her complaint. The court found that this was a compelling reason to seal the attachment.

Ruling

The court granted defendants’ administrative motion to file Attachment 11 under seal. It also found that defendants had not complied with Civil Local Rule 79-5(d)(1)(D), which required them to file an unredacted copy of the document with the sealing motion. Because defendants had provided only a physical copy to the court, Judge Virginia K. Demarchi ordered them to file the unredacted attachment under seal by October 4, 2019.