Skillz Platform Inc. v. AviaGames Inc.

Background

Skillz Platform Inc. filed an administrative motion asking whether material from another party should be sealed in connection with Skillz’s motion for sanctions. Skillz identified its sanctions motion, ECF No. 241-2, and an exhibit containing excerpts from the deposition transcript of Peng Zhang, ECF No. 241-3, as including information that AviaGames Inc. had designated highly confidential.

Legal standard

The court explained that filings more than tangentially related to a case’s merits generally may be sealed only for compelling reasons, while filings only tangentially related to the merits may be sealed for good cause. The court stated that courts in the district apply the good-cause standard to sealing requests connected with motions for sanctions under Rule 37(b)(2).

Under Civil Local Rule 79-5(f), when a filing party seeks to seal material designated confidential by another party, the designating party must file a statement or declaration supporting sealing within seven days. Failure to do so may result in unsealing without further notice. The proposed sealing must also be narrowly tailored to cover only material that can properly be sealed.

Ruling

The court noted that AviaGames had not filed the required supporting statement or declaration. It therefore ruled as follows:

- ECF No. 241-2, Skillz’s Rule 37 motion for sanctions for failure to comply with a court order: the request to seal highlighted portions was denied, as failing to comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5(f)(3). - ECF No. 241-3, the entire deposition-transcript exhibit: the request to seal was denied, as failing to comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5(f)(3).

Beth Labson Freeman ordered that these denials were without prejudice to AviaGames filing a supporting statement or declaration within 10 days. The court also stated that any redactions must be narrowly tailored to seal only material that may properly be sealed. The order denied Skillz’s administrative motion without prejudice.