MiCamp Solutions, LLC v. Visa Inc.

Background

Visa filed an administrative motion to seal Exhibit 6 to the Declaration of Sharon D. Mayo. The exhibit was submitted in support of Visa’s motion to dismiss. Visa described the exhibit as a package of documents concerning non-compliant surcharging and said it contained highly confidential, sensitive business information that would reveal Visa’s internal deliberative processes for considering rules violations and appeals.

Legal standard

Because Exhibit 6 was attached to a dispositive motion, the court applied the “compelling reasons” standard. Under that standard, the party seeking to seal court records must identify specific reasons that outweigh the public’s strong interest in access to judicial records. The court also considered the requirement that parties explore reasonable alternatives to sealing, minimize sealed material, and explain the harm that would result from disclosure.

Court’s analysis

The court said the documents appeared to be appropriate candidates for sealing because disclosure could cause competitive harm to Visa. The court found it especially significant, however, that the motion to dismiss connected to Exhibit 6 had been terminated as moot before the court ruled on it. The court therefore never substantively considered the exhibit.

Because the court did not consider the materials, the public’s interest in disclosure was minimal: the exhibit did not assist the public in understanding the court’s proceedings. In light of the documents’ sensitive nature and the minimal public interest in them, the court found compelling reasons to seal the exhibit.

Disposition

The court GRANTED Visa’s administrative motion to seal Exhibit 6 to the Mayo Declaration. The opinion does not decide Visa’s motion to dismiss or the underlying claims between the parties.