Brown v. Google LLC
- Yvonne Rogers
- 4:20-cv-03664
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Brown v. Google LLC, Judge Van Keulen granted Google’s motion to seal limited portions of a discovery-related joint submission about a privilege-log dispute.
Google LLC, whose specified information was allowed to remain redacted, and members of the public seeking access to the joint submission.
What happened
In Brown v. Google LLC, Google asked to keep parts of the parties’ joint letter brief about a dispute over a privilege log from public view.
The court applied a lower “good cause” standard because the submission concerned discovery rather than the merits of the case. The court noted that court records generally carry a strong presumption of public access.
Judge Susan Van Keulen granted the motion as to redacted portions on pages 3 and 4. The court found that the redactions were narrowly tailored to protect confidential information about Google’s internal systems and operations, including internal identifiers and projects.
The detailed version
- Brown v. Google LLC · No. 4:20-cv-03664
- Yvonne Rogers
- Oct. 27, 2021
Background
Google filed an administrative motion asking the court to seal portions of the parties’ joint letter brief concerning their privilege-log dispute. The request was made in connection with a discovery-related motion.
Legal standard
The court explained that judicial records generally carry a strong presumption of public access. The applicable standard depends on how closely the records relate to the merits of the case. Records connected more than tangentially to the underlying claims require compelling reasons for sealing. Records connected only tangentially to the merits may be sealed for good cause under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), along with compliance with the court’s local sealing procedures.
Ruling
The court held that the good-cause standard applied because the information was submitted in connection with a discovery-related motion rather than a motion concerning the merits of the case. After considering the motion to seal, the supporting declaration, and the filings, the court granted the request as to the redacted portions of pages 3 and 4 of the joint submission. It found the redactions narrowly tailored to protect confidential and proprietary information about Google’s internal systems and operations, including internal identifiers and projects, that Google ordinarily treats as confidential and that is not generally known to the public or Google’s competitors. The court entered the order on October 27, 2021.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.