Compass Productions International LLC v. Charter Communications, Inc.

Background

Charter Communications, Inc. asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for permission to redact and file under seal portions of its memorandum supporting summary judgment, its statement of material facts, deposition transcripts, and other exhibits. Charter identified confidential programmer-carriage agreements, financial analyses, testimony describing those materials, and other sensitive business information.

Charter argued that the information should remain confidential because public disclosure could harm its competitive standing. It also asked to seal additional materials solely because Compass Productions International LLC had designated them confidential under the parties’ January 9, 2020 protective order. Charter stated that it was not offering independent arguments for sealing the materials covered only by Compass’s designations. The letter cited Second Circuit and Southern District of New York decisions concerning the public’s access to court records, competitive harm, and narrowly tailored redactions.

Court’s Action

Judge Victor Marrero did not decide the sealing request in the provided text. Instead, the court directed Compass to respond by letter, limited to five pages, stating its position on Charter’s request. The response was due April 14, 2021. The text provided does not show whether the court later granted, denied, or modified the requested redactions or sealing.

Effect

The order required Compass to submit its position before the court ruled on Charter’s request. It concerned access to filings and exhibits in the case and did not decide the underlying summary-judgment dispute.