Samsung C&T America, Inc. v. Tommy Bahama Group, Inc.
- John Cronan
- 1:20-cv-10348
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Samsung C&T America v. Tommy Bahama Group, Judge Cronan provisionally allowed confidential exhibit redactions and sealing pending a later final decision.
Tommy Bahama Group, Inc. and Tommy Bahama Global Sourcing Limited received provisional permission to file the exhibit under seal and a redacted version publicly; Samsung C&T America, Inc.’s pending motion was not decided by this order.
What happened
Samsung C&T America, Inc. v. Tommy Bahama Group, Inc. involved Tommy Bahama’s request to redact parts of a trademark license agreement attached to its opposition to Samsung’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings.
Tommy Bahama said the proposed redactions covered information irrelevant to that motion and confidential commercial or proprietary information. Samsung consented, while counsel for two other parties had not stated whether they consented or opposed the request.
Judge John P. Cronan provisionally allowed Tommy Bahama to file the exhibit’s unredacted version under seal and the redacted version publicly. He stated that the court would make a final decision about the redactions and sealed filing after deciding Samsung’s motion.
The detailed version
- Samsung C&T America, Inc. v. Tommy Bahama Group, Inc. · No. 1:20-cv-10348
- John Cronan
- Mar. 25, 2021
Background
Tommy Bahama Group, Inc. and Tommy Bahama Global Sourcing Limited asked the court for permission to redact portions of a trademark license agreement with TB Footwear LLC. The agreement was to be attached to Tommy Bahama’s opposition to Samsung C&T America, Inc.’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings.
Tommy Bahama argued that the proposed redactions were narrowly limited to portions not relevant to Samsung’s motion and were needed to protect confidential, sensitive, and proprietary commercial information. Samsung consented to the request. The opinion states that, when the request was filed, counsel for TB Footwear LLC and GMI USA Corp. had not indicated whether he consented or opposed it.
Ruling
The court provisionally permitted Tommy Bahama to file Exhibit A, identified as Docket 37, in unredacted form under seal, while placing the version with proposed redactions on the public docket. The court based this provisional permission on its view that the redacted material was not relevant to the disposition of Samsung’s pending motion and contained confidential and sensitive commercial information. Judge John P. Cronan stated that the court would issue a final decision about maintaining the redactions and the sealed filing after deciding Samsung’s motion. The order did not decide Samsung’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.