Olson v. Macalester College
- Eric Tostrud
- 0:21-cv-01576
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Olson v. Macalester College, Magistrate Judge Foster granted the parties’ joint motion to keep specified exhibits sealed because they contain sensitive private information.
Ian Olson, Macalester College, and a nonparty whose personal messages were included in the exhibits.
What happened
In Olson v. Macalester College, the parties jointly asked the court to continue sealing Exhibits S and AG, filed as ECF No. 99, in connection with Olson’s opposition to Macalester College’s summary-judgment motion.
The parties said the exhibits contained sensitive photographs, private information from when Olson was a minor—including education records—and personal messages belonging to someone who was not a party. The court reviewed the documents and found good cause to keep them confidential while recognizing the public’s general right to access court records.
Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster granted the joint motion and directed the clerk to keep ECF No. 99 under seal.
The detailed version
- Olson v. Macalester College · No. 0:21-cv-01576
- Eric Tostrud
- Mar. 10, 2023
Background
The court considered the parties’ joint motion to continue sealing Exhibits S and AG, which were submitted in support of Ian Olson’s opposition to Macalester College’s motion for summary judgment. The parties filed placeholders for the exhibits while asking that the documents remain sealed.
The parties stated that the exhibits contained sensitive photographs, sensitive or private information from when Olson was a minor, including education records, and personal messages of a nonparty.
Legal standard
The court explained that documents in a civil case may be sealed only as allowed by statute or rule, or with the court’s permission. It also recognized the common-law right of public access to judicial records. That right is not absolute, however, and the court must balance public access against legitimate interests in keeping confidential information private.
Ruling
After reviewing the documents, the court found good cause to grant the motion. Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster ordered the clerk to keep ECF No. 99 under seal. The order granted the parties’ joint motion for continued sealing as stated in the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.