Neca-Ibew Health & Welfare Fund v. Goldman Sachs & Co.
- Loretta Preska
- 1:08-cv-10783
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund v. Goldman, Sachs & Co., Judge Preska granted counsel’s request to seal settlement-related documents and required a later update on unsealing.
The order affects class counsel, the parties, class members whose claim information may appear in the documents, and public access to the letter and exhibit. The documents may be filed under seal, and counsel must later report whether they may be unsealed.
What happened
NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund v. Goldman, Sachs & Co. involved a request by class counsel to file two documents under seal: a November 24, 2020 letter to the court and an exhibit to that letter.
Counsel said the documents contained confidential information about class-member claims and settlement information. Counsel also said related information had been sealed by court order in an earlier case.
Judge Loretta A. Preska granted the request to file the documents under seal to protect the parties’ interests in settlement. She directed counsel to confer and tell the court within one week after the settlement is finalized whether the papers may be unsealed.
The detailed version
- Neca-Ibew Health & Welfare Fund v. Goldman Sachs & Co. · No. 1:08-cv-10783
- Loretta Preska
- Dec. 15, 2020
Background
NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund brought this class action individually and on behalf of others similarly situated. The opinion text concerns a motion by class counsel, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, to file materials under seal.
Motion
Class counsel asked for permission to file under seal two documents: its November 24, 2020 letter to the court and Exhibit A to that letter. Counsel stated that the materials contained confidential class-member claim information and settlement information that counsel had agreed to keep confidential on behalf of the class.
Counsel also pointed to a court order in a prior related case that protected the confidentiality of unnamed class members’ identities and materials handled by a special master. Counsel argued that there was good cause to keep the letter and exhibit from public view. The motion cited the general presumption that judicial documents are open to the public, while noting that access to settlement negotiations may be minimal and that confidentiality can encourage settlements.
Ruling
Judge Loretta A. Preska granted the request to file the letter and exhibit under seal in order to protect the parties’ interests in settlement. The court directed counsel to confer and inform the court within one week of the settlement’s finalization whether the papers could be unsealed. The order did not itself state that the papers were to be unsealed.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.