Preferred Freezer Services, LLC v. Americold Realty Trust

Background Preferred Freezer Services, LLC brought claims against Americold Realty Trust arising from an alleged scheme to obtain Preferred Freezer’s confidential and trade-secret information through a bidding process for the sale of Preferred Freezer. The claims identified in the filing include a federal claim under the Defend Trade Secrets Act and state-law claims for fraud in the inducement, breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, interference with prospective economic advantage, unfair competition, and misuse of confidential information.

Americold allegedly received the information under a confidentiality and nondisclosure agreement dated October 23, 2018. The filing states that earlier pleadings and motion papers had also been filed partly under seal because they referred to the same confidential information.

Request Preferred Freezer asked for permission under the court’s Individual Rule 5.B to file its amended complaint partly under seal. It argued that public disclosure could harm its confidential information and undermine the protections it had relied on when sharing that information. Preferred Freezer publicly filed a redacted amended complaint and separately filed a sealed copy identifying the redacted material. Americold took no position on the request.

Ruling Judge Vernon S. Broderick granted the application. The order allowed Preferred Freezer to file a redacted version of its amended complaint while keeping the identified material under seal. The order addressed filing access and confidentiality only; the supplied opinion text does not show a ruling on the merits of Preferred Freezer’s claims.