Napleton Orlando Imports, LLC v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Background

This order concerns motions filed by the dealers and the Bosch defendants in multidistrict litigation involving Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” marketing, sales practices, and products-liability claims. In a separate order issued the same day, the court granted the Bosch defendants’ motion for summary judgment on all claims brought by the named-plaintiff dealerships.

Class Certification and Expert Testimony

In light of the summary-judgment ruling, the court denied as moot the dealers’ motion for class certification and their motion to exclude an expert report that the Bosch defendants had submitted in opposition to class certification. The court therefore did not consider either motion.

Motions to Seal

The dealers and the Bosch defendants asked the court to seal numerous exhibits filed with their briefing on class certification and the motion to exclude. Some exhibits contained technical details about the Bosch defendants’ emissions software, while others contained information about the dealers’ finances.

The court explained that, if it had considered the underlying motions, the parties’ confidentiality interests might not have outweighed the public’s right of access. Because the court did not consider those motions, however, the exhibits provided little insight into the judicial process. The court stated that the publicly available summary-judgment briefing, evidence, and order allowed the public to understand how the case was decided. Under those circumstances, the court found that the parties’ interest in protecting their technical and financial information outweighed the public’s right of access and granted the motions to seal.

Disposition

The court denied as moot the motion for class certification and the motion to exclude the expert report. It granted the parties’ motions to seal. The order was signed by United States District Judge Charles R. Breyer.