Wynne v. Arteaga

Background

Elizabeth P. Wynne filed an administrative motion asking the court to consider sealing materials connected to her motion for summary judgment. The materials appeared to include her summary-judgment motion, her declaration and exhibits, exhibits attached to George R. Nemiroff’s declaration, and a proposed order. The court found the request confusing because some versions had already been filed publicly with redactions, while other materials had been filed under seal. It was therefore unclear whether Wynne sought to seal the documents entirely or only portions of them.

Court’s Analysis

The court denied any request to seal the documents in their entirety. It found that sealing entire documents was overbroad and that Wynne had not provided compelling justifications for doing so. The court noted that documents filed with the court generally may include only limited portions of Social Security numbers, taxpayer-identification numbers, birth dates, minor children’s names, and financial-account numbers under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2.

The court also found that some existing redactions did not comply with Rule 5.2. For example, one public version redacted all of Wynne’s birth date even though the year may be included, while a sealed version included the full day, month, and year. The court likewise noted that Wynne’s motion did not address Exhibit B to her declaration, even though the declaration and both exhibits had been filed under seal.

Disposition

The court denied the motion to seal documents in their entirety. It ordered Wynne to refile Docket Nos. 26 through 26-3 publicly by February 16, 2024, with only personal identifying information redacted in compliance with Rule 5.2. It also ordered Docket Nos. 26 through 26-3 and 27-3 through 27-6 removed from the docket. Judge Donna M. Ryu signed the order as Chief Magistrate Judge.