Nespresso USA, Inc. v. Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

Background

Nespresso USA, Inc. and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. jointly requested permission to redact and partially seal portions of their December 17, 2020 joint letter and one related exhibit. The parties stated that the materials contained information Nespresso had designated “Outside Counsel Eyes Only” under the court’s protective order.

The requested redactions concerned highly sensitive business information about Nespresso’s licensing, marketing, and distribution agreements. The parties said they had publicly filed redacted versions and separately filed unredacted versions under seal, with the proposed redactions highlighted.

Court’s analysis

The request relied on the Second Circuit’s framework for sealing judicial documents. Under that framework, the court considers whether the materials are judicial documents, the strength of the public-access presumption, and competing interests such as privacy. The parties did not dispute that the joint letter was a judicial document, but they argued that the information at issue came from discovery, giving it a low presumption of public access.

The parties also argued that the proposed redactions were limited to specific information designated as outside-counsel-only material and that Nespresso had significant privacy interests in its confidential agreements.

Disposition

The court approved the parties’ proposed narrowly tailored redactions and sealing. The order protected the identified confidential information without sealing more of the filing than the parties said was necessary. Judge Katharine H. Parker entered the order.