East West Bank v. Shanker

Background

East West Bank filed an administrative motion to seal documents submitted with its complaint. It sought to seal Exhibit C, a settlement agreement between East West Bank and Sukeert Shanker signed shortly after Shanker left his employment at East West Bank. The bank also sought to seal portions of the complaint referring to the agreement.

In a supporting declaration, the bank stated only that the parties had agreed to keep the settlement agreement’s terms and amount confidential.

Court’s Analysis

The court held that this explanation was insufficient under both the good-cause and compelling-interest standards for sealing court records. A private confidentiality agreement, without evidence of a specific harm or prejudice from disclosure, does not by itself justify restricting public access.

The court also found that the request was not narrowly tailored. East West Bank sought to seal the entire settlement agreement but did not provide compelling reasons to justify sealing the document so broadly. The request needed to identify and redact only information that could properly be sealed.

Ruling

In East West Bank v. Shanker, Judge William H. Orrick denied East West Bank’s motion to seal without prejudice. The court did not unseal the provisionally sealed documents at that time because the bank might be able to submit a narrower request supported by a sufficient explanation. The court allowed East West Bank 14 days to file a supplemental request and declaration describing the specific harm or prejudice that public disclosure would cause and limiting the request to sealable information.