Oyster Optics, LLC v. Ciena Corporation
- Jeffrey White
- 4:17-cv-05920
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Oyster Optics v. Ciena, Judge White ordered Oyster to explain why its settlement agreement should remain entirely sealed.
Oyster Optics, LLC and Ciena Corporation, whose sealing requests were addressed; Oyster was specifically ordered to justify sealing the settlement agreement in its entirety.
What happened
In Oyster Optics, LLC v. Ciena Corporation, the parties asked the court to seal parts of their summary-judgment and expert-testimony filings. One sealed exhibit was a settlement agreement between Oyster Optics and Fujitsu entities.
The court ordered Oyster to explain why that agreement should remain sealed in its entirety. It also ordered the parties to discuss all pending sealing requests and jointly identify any exhibits that could be publicly filed in redacted form.
The joint statement was due April 17, 2023, and the court said it intended to rule on the sealing requests when deciding the summary-judgment and expert-testimony motions. Judge Jeffrey White issued the order.
The detailed version
- Oyster Optics, LLC v. Ciena Corporation · No. 4:17-cv-05920
- Jeffrey White
- Apr. 3, 2023
Background
The parties had filed motions for summary judgment and motions to exclude expert testimony. They also filed motions seeking to seal portions of those briefs and supporting exhibits.
One exhibit was a settlement agreement between Oyster Optics LLC and Fujitsu Ltd. and Fujitsu Network Communications. The court referred to that agreement as the “OFA.”
Court’s Instructions
The court ordered Oyster to show why the settlement agreement should remain sealed in its entirety. The court also ordered the parties to meet and confer about all pending motions to seal.
To help the court determine which portions of its future order could be publicly filed, the parties had to submit a joint statement identifying any exhibits filed entirely under seal that could instead be redacted. The statement had to include a chart listing each such exhibit, its docket number, and the portions that could be publicly filed.
Disposition
The joint statement was due no later than April 17, 2023. The court stated that it intended to rule on the motions to seal when it issued its order resolving the summary-judgment and expert-testimony motions. Judge Jeffrey S. White signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.