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

Background

Nespresso USA and Williams-Sonoma jointly sought permission to redact and seal portions of Williams-Sonoma’s memorandum supporting its motion for the issuance of letters of request, as well as certain exhibits. They also sought to file Exhibits 6 through 8 under seal in their entirety. The parties said the materials contained information that Nespresso had designated as “Outside Counsel Eyes Only” under the court’s protective order.

Legal standard

The court applied the framework from Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga. That framework requires the court to determine whether the materials are judicial documents, assess the weight of the public’s right of access under the common law and the First Amendment, and balance that interest against competing interests such as privacy and protection from harm. The parties did not dispute that the motion-related materials were judicial documents, but the court noted that the information concerned material exchanged in discovery, where the presumption of public access is relatively low.

Court’s ruling

The court concluded that the proposed redactions were appropriate and narrowly tailored. It found that the materials contained highly sensitive commercial agreements concerning Nespresso’s licensing, marketing, and distribution activities, and that disclosure of confidential licensing terms could cause competitive harm. The court therefore ordered the Clerk to ensure that the documents filed at ECF Nos. 129 and 131 were sealed, with access limited to the parties and the court.