Wise v. State Farm General Insurance Company
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:23-cv-00163
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Wise v. State Farm General Insurance Company, Judge Gilliam granted plaintiffs’ motion to seal two exhibits after the case became moot.
Plaintiffs E Verrick Wise and Noel Russell, State Farm General Insurance Company, and members of the public seeking access to Exhibits R and X.
What happened
In Wise v. State Farm General Insurance Company, plaintiffs E Verrick Wise and Noel Russell asked the court to seal Exhibits R and X attached to their motion for partial summary judgment. The exhibits were two internal State Farm training and resource documents totaling ten pages.
State Farm submitted reasons for keeping the exhibits sealed. The parties then stipulated to dismiss the case in its entirety, which made the partial-summary-judgment motion moot before the court ruled on it or considered the exhibits.
Judge Gilliam found good cause to seal the exhibits because they contained confidential materials that could harm State Farm’s competitive advantage and could not be protected through narrower means. The court granted the request to seal the documents in the now-closed case.
The detailed version
- Wise v. State Farm General Insurance Company · No. 4:23-cv-00163
- Haywood Gilliam
- Feb. 6, 2024
Background
Plaintiffs E Verrick Wise and Noel Russell filed an administrative motion asking the court to consider whether Exhibits R and X should be sealed. The exhibits were attached to plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment and consisted of two internal State Farm training and resource documents totaling ten pages.
State Farm filed a statement explaining why it believed the exhibits should remain sealed. The opinion identifies the proposed basis as confidentiality and the potential for injury to State Farm’s competitive advantage.
Effect of the Parties’ Stipulation
The parties stipulated to dismiss the case in its entirety on February 2, 2024. That dismissal made plaintiffs’ partial-summary-judgment motion moot before the court ruled on it or had an opportunity to consider the exhibits at issue.
Ruling
The court found good cause to seal Exhibits R and X. It accepted the stated basis that the documents contained confidential materials that could injure State Farm’s competitive advantage and could not be protected through more narrowly tailored means. The court granted the request to seal the documents in the now-closed case.
Disposition and Classification
The court granted plaintiffs’ administrative motion to seal Exhibits R and X. This was a sealing and access ruling rather than a decision on the underlying claims or the merits of the partial-summary-judgment motion. The opinion does not state that the court ruled on that motion.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.