Aenergy, S.A. v. Republic of Angola
- John Cronan
- 1:20-cv-03569
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Aenergy v. Angola, Judge Cronan granted requests to seal declarations and redact related letters because disclosure might endanger Ricardo Machado or his family.
The plaintiffs, the defendants, Ricardo Machado and his family, and public access to the specified court filings.
What happened
In Aenergy, S.A. v. Republic of Angola, the plaintiffs asked the court to keep declarations by Ricardo Machado and his security detail under seal. The defendants also asked to redact parts of letters discussing those declarations.
The court found that making the information public might endanger Machado or his family. It granted the plaintiffs’ sealing request and the defendants’ requests to redact the related portions of their letters and file unredacted versions under seal.
Judge Cronan directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motions at Docket Numbers 114 and 118 and placed the Angolan defendants’ unredacted letter in the court’s sealed vault.
The detailed version
- Aenergy, S.A. v. Republic of Angola · No. 1:20-cv-03569
- John Cronan
- May 19, 2021
What the court considered
The plaintiffs moved to file under seal declarations by Ricardo Machado and his security detail. The defendants separately requested permission to redact parts of letters discussing those declarations and to file unredacted versions under seal.
Court’s analysis
The court applied the standards for sealing judicial documents described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga. It stated that the declarations contained information that, if made public, might place Machado or his family in danger. The court noted that courts routinely allow sealing in similar circumstances.
Ruling
The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion to file the declarations under seal. It also granted the defendants’ requests to redact portions of their letters discussing the declarations and to file the unredacted documents under seal. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motions at Docket Numbers 114 and 118. The court also stated that the Angolan defendants’ unredacted letter, submitted by email, would be placed in the sealed vault.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.