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 plaintiffs’ motion to seal a minor’s compromise petition, requiring the minor’s name to be redacted.
The ruling protects the identity of the minor, V.G.M., by allowing the Minor’s Compromise petition to be filed under seal with the minor’s name redacted. It also limits public access to that information.
What happened
In V.G.M. v. City of Salinas, the plaintiffs asked to seal parts of a minor’s compromise petition to protect the identity of the minor, V.G.M. The defendants did not oppose the request.
The court explained that court filings are generally open to the public, but records may be sealed when the required legal standard is met. It found that protecting the minor’s identity provided sufficient reason under the less demanding “good cause” standard.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted the plaintiffs’ motion to file the petition under seal, with the minor’s name redacted.
The detailed version
- V.G.M. v. City of Salinas · No. 5:19-cv-08007
- Beth Freeman
- Mar. 25, 2021
Background
The plaintiffs filed an administrative motion to seal portions of the Minor’s Compromise petition. They sought to protect the identity of the minor, V.G.M. The defendants did not oppose the motion.
Legal standard
The court explained that judicial records are generally available for public inspection. Records more than tangentially related to the merits of a case may be sealed only for “compelling reasons,” while records only tangentially related to the merits may be sealed for “good cause.” The court also noted that sealing requests must be narrowly limited to material that can properly be sealed under the court’s local rules.
The court stated that courts have applied the good-cause standard to confidential settlement agreements and to information identifying minors. It applied that standard here.
Ruling
The court found that the plaintiffs had provided sufficient reasons to seal the Minor’s Compromise petition because the minor’s identity should be protected from public disclosure. Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted the plaintiffs’ motion to file the petition under seal with the minor’s name redacted.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.