In Re: MacBook Keyboard Litigation

Background

The parties submitted a joint letter about a discovery dispute involving depositions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6). After the parties further discussed the dispute at a January 14, 2020 hearing, they reached an agreement on all matters raised in the letter. The court therefore terminated Docket No. 170.

The plaintiffs separately filed an administrative motion to seal portions of the joint discovery letter. Apple Inc. filed a declaration supporting the request.

Sealing standard

The court explained that judicial records connected to dispositive motions generally receive a strong presumption of public access, which can be overcome only by compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings. But that strong presumption does not apply in the same way to material only indirectly related to the merits of a case. Because this request involved a discovery dispute about whether Apple should produce Rule 30(b)(6) witnesses on particular topics—not the parties’ underlying claims or defenses—the court applied Rule 26(c)’s lower “good cause” standard.

The court expressed skepticism that the requested material deserved sealing, noting that embarrassment, possible incrimination, or exposure to additional litigation alone is not enough. Nevertheless, the court noted that the presiding judge had previously granted requests to seal documents containing the same or substantially similar information.

Ruling

The court granted the administrative motion to seal the fifth line of the second full paragraph and the eighth line of the third full paragraph on page 4 of the parties’ joint discovery letter. The court also terminated Docket No. 170.

The opinion text is signed by Virginia K. DeMarchi, United States Magistrate Judge, although the supplied case metadata identifies Edward Davila as the judge.