V.G.M. v. City of Salinas
- Beth Freeman
- 5:19-cv-08007
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In V.G.M. v. City of Salinas, Judge Freeman granted a motion to seal agreements and an email because they were unrelated to the case’s merits.
The respondent’s Exhibits A through C were ordered filed under seal.
What happened
In V.G.M. v. City of Salinas, the respondent asked to file three exhibits under seal while responding to the court’s order to show cause. The exhibits included retainer agreements and an email.
The court applied the lower “good cause” standard because it found the records were not related to the merits of the case. The order did not decide the parties’ underlying claims.
The court granted the administrative motion and ordered the referenced documents filed under seal. Judge Beth Labson Freeman signed the order.
The detailed version
- V.G.M. v. City of Salinas · No. 5:19-cv-08007
- Beth Freeman
- Feb. 16, 2021
Background
The respondent filed an administrative motion to place certain documents under seal in connection with its response to an order to show cause. The documents were:
- Exhibit A: a retainer agreement concerning the matter; - Exhibit B: copies of retainer agreements concerning the matter; and - Exhibit C: an email from Melissa Nold dated August 3, 2020, concerning the matter.
Court’s Analysis
Under Civil Local Rule 79-5(d), the court determined that the “good cause” standard applied. The court relied on the finding that the records were not related to the merits of the case. The good-cause standard is a showing that supports restricting public access to the documents.
Disposition
The court granted the respondent’s administrative motion and ordered the referenced documents filed under seal. The order addressed only the filing status of those documents and did not resolve the underlying claims in V.G.M. v. City of Salinas.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.