Day v. GEICO Casualty Company

Background

Jessica Day filed an administrative motion concerning whether materials provisionally filed under seal in support of her opposition to GEICO Casualty Company, GEICO Indemnity Company, and GEICO General Insurance Company’s motion for summary judgment should remain sealed. The materials included a redacted opposition brief and Exhibits 1, 3, 5–10, and 12–16. GEICO stated its positions on sealing, and Day did not oppose the requests described in GEICO’s statement.

The materials included deposition transcripts, declarations, internal emails, memoranda, presentations, reports, and a petition filed in a confidential proceeding before the CDI. GEICO argued that some materials contained nonpublic financial data, competitive business information, and strategy discussions, and that disclosure could give competitors an unfair advantage.

Legal standard

The court explained that judicial records generally carry a strong presumption of public access. Because the materials related to a summary-judgment motion, a party seeking to seal them had to show “compelling reasons” supported by specific facts that outweighed the public’s interest in disclosure. The court also stated that sealing requests must be narrowly tailored and explain the interests supporting secrecy, the harm from disclosure, and why a less restrictive alternative would not be sufficient.

Ruling

The court found compelling reasons to seal the requested portions of Exhibits 1, 3, 6–10, and 14–16. The reasons included confidential financial information, California-specific rate information, competitive business intelligence, business strategy, and internal figures. The court also allowed Exhibit 12 to remain sealed because it had been filed in a confidential proceeding before the CDI.

The court denied without prejudice the request to keep Exhibit 5 sealed because GEICO had not included Exhibit 5 in its statement or provided a justification for sealing it. GEICO was allowed to file a renewed motion concerning Exhibit 5 by December 7, 2023, limited to three pages. The court granted the request to unseal Exhibit 13 because GEICO did not seek to maintain it under seal.

The court ordered Day to file on the public docket a redacted opposition brief and a redacted Exhibit 1, along with an unredacted Exhibit 13, by December 11, 2023. If GEICO did not timely renew its request concerning Exhibit 5, Day was also required to file an unredacted version of that exhibit by that date. Judge Beth Labson Freeman therefore granted in part and denied in part without prejudice Day’s administrative sealing motion.