Murray v. Church Pension Group Services Corporation

Background

The court considered Defendant Church Pension Group Services Corp.’s motion to seal, or alternatively redact, Plaintiff William F. Murray’s complaint. The court reviewed the complaint and the proposed redactions under the standards applied in the Southern District of New York, citing Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga.

Redaction Ruling

The court approved the proposed redactions in part. It approved all proposed redactions in Paragraph 9; only the last four words of the proposed redaction in Paragraph 13; only the last two words of the proposed redaction in Paragraph 15; all proposed redactions in Paragraph 16; only the dollar figure in Paragraphs 17, 20, 21, and 30; and the proposed redactions in Paragraphs 22 through 27.

The court stated that these determinations were made without prejudice to a later order unredacting additional portions of the complaint after further motions or argument.

Required Filings and Case Status

The court ordered Plaintiff to file a redacted complaint consistent with the order by June 1, 2021. It ordered Defendant to file by June 4, 2021, a motion attaching copies of every document filed by either party, with proposed redactions consistent with the authorized complaint redactions and any additional redactions consistent with Lugosch. The motion itself, apart from its exhibits, was not to be redacted and was to explain the reasons for the redactions.

Judge Lewis J. Liman also directed the Clerk of Court to unseal the case so the parties and court could file documents on the public docket. The order stated that documents previously filed under seal were not to be filed on the public docket.