Skillz Platform Inc. v. AviaGames Inc.

Background

Skillz Platform Inc. filed four administrative motions asking the court to decide whether materials connected to Skillz’s motions in limine—motions asking the court to exclude evidence at trial—should remain sealed. AviaGames supported sealing information it identified as confidential, including business communications, business plans and strategies, server operations, and source code.

The court held that motions in limine are more than tangentially related to the merits of a case. Therefore, a party seeking to seal related materials had to show “compelling reasons.” The court explained that confidential source code may qualify as a trade secret and that confidential business information may be sealed when public disclosure could harm a party’s competitive position. But sealing requests also had to be narrowly tailored to cover only material that justified protection.

Rulings

For ECF No. 355, concerning motion in limine number one, the court denied without prejudice the request to seal the entire document. The court found that some information could be sealed, but much of the exhibit concerned publicly available information. AviaGames could file a renewed statement seeking narrower redactions within seven days.

For ECF No. 367, concerning motion in limine number two, the court granted sealing for highlighted portions of the motion and for exhibits 1, 6, and 7 because they contained confidential business information whose disclosure could cause competitive harm. The court denied sealing for exhibit 2 and the proposed order because the requests were not narrowly tailored. It also denied sealing for exhibit 5 because neither party supported sealing it. These denials were without prejudice, and AviaGames could seek narrower redactions within seven days. The court’s final order described this motion as granted in part and denied without prejudice in part.

For ECF No. 369, concerning motion in limine number three, the court granted sealing for highlighted portions of the motion. It denied sealing for exhibits A, B, and C because requests to seal the entire exhibits were not narrowly tailored. Those denials were without prejudice, and AviaGames could seek narrower redactions within seven days. The court’s final order described this motion as granted in part and denied without prejudice in part.

For ECF No. 371, concerning motion in limine number four, the court granted the request to seal highlighted portions discussing AviaGames’ confidential business information and found that request narrowly tailored.

Effect of the Order

The order addressed access to particular court filings; it did not decide the underlying claims between Skillz and AviaGames. Judge Beth Labson Freeman entered the order on November 13, 2023. The order states that AviaGames could file renewed, narrower sealing requests within seven days for the matters denied without prejudice.