SFM Realty Corp. v. Lemanski
- Katherine Failla
- 1:20-cv-00209
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In SFM Realty Corp. v. Lemanski, Judge Failla granted permission to file SFM’s opposition to sanctions under seal, limiting access to the court and parties.
SFM Realty Corp. and its counsel may file their opposition to Patricia M. Lemanski’s sanctions motion under seal. The sealed papers will be visible only to the court and the parties.
What happened
SFM Realty Corp. asked to file its opposition to Patricia M. Lemanski’s sanctions motion under seal. SFM said the opposition would discuss information, documents, and transcripts covered by a confidentiality order or already sealed.
SFM and its counsel argued that public disclosure could harm SFM because the materials included information SFM considered confidential and trade-secret information. The request followed an earlier order allowing Lemanski’s sanctions motion and supporting submissions to be viewed only by the parties.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla granted the application. SFM and its counsel may file their opposing papers under seal so they are visible only to the court and the parties.
The detailed version
- SFM Realty Corp. v. Lemanski · No. 1:20-cv-00209
- Katherine Failla
- Apr. 6, 2020
Background
SFM Realty Corp. and its counsel asked for permission to file under seal their opposition to Defendant Patricia M. Lemanski’s motion for sanctions. The request stated that Lemanski’s motion referred to and incorporated information and documents that SFM maintained were confidential trade-secret information covered by a January 21, 2020 confidentiality stipulation and protective order. The request also stated that the referenced transcripts were sealed.
SFM represented that its opposition would also refer to, incorporate, and discuss those materials. It argued that disclosure could harm SFM and that the potential harm outweighed the public interest in access to the information. The request cited an earlier March 9, 2020 order allowing Lemanski to file the sanctions motion under seal and directing that related submissions be viewable by the parties only.
Ruling
Judge Katherine Polk Failla granted the application. The court allowed SFM and its counsel to file their opposing papers under seal, with access limited to the court and the parties.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.