Capri Sun GmbH v. American Beverage Corporation
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:19-cv-01422
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Capri Sun GmbH v. American Beverage Corporation, Judge Engelmayer granted ABC’s request to seal and redact commercially sensitive filings.
American Beverage Corporation and Capri Sun GmbH, because the order concerns documents and discovery materials filed in their case.
What happened
In Capri Sun GmbH v. American Beverage Corporation, American Beverage Corporation asked the court to seal some documents and allow redactions in others. The documents supported its motion for summary judgment and its motion to partially exclude Joel H. Steckel’s testimony.
American Beverage Corporation said the materials included information marked confidential under the parties’ protective order, including business and marketing strategies, financial information, and related deposition and expert materials. It argued that disclosure could cause commercial or competitive harm.
Judge Engelmayer granted the request. The order sealed the documents listed in Exhibit A and allowed the documents listed in Exhibit B to be filed with redactions, as requested.
The detailed version
- Capri Sun GmbH v. American Beverage Corporation · No. 1:19-cv-01422
- Paul Engelmayer
- June 4, 2021
Background
American Beverage Corporation (ABC) filed a letter motion under the court’s individual rules and the protective order in the case. ABC sought an order sealing certain documents filed in support of its motion for summary judgment and its motion to partially exclude the testimony of Joel H. Steckel. ABC also requested permission to file other documents with redactions.
The protective order allowed discovery materials to be designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or “OUTSIDE COUNSEL’S EYES ONLY.” It required a party seeking to file protected materials to ask the court to place the relevant portions under seal under the local rules.
Materials at Issue
ABC identified documents in two groups: documents it asked the court to seal, listed in Exhibit A, and documents it asked to file with redactions, listed in Exhibit B. The materials included declarations and exhibits, a statement of undisputed facts under Rule 56.1, memoranda of law, deposition excerpts, and expert reports.
ABC described the information as including confidential business and marketing strategies, information about products and customers, competitive analysis, nonpublic financial information and analysis, and related deposition and expert materials. ABC stated that disclosure could commercially or competitively disadvantage the party that disclosed the information. It also stated that some fact-witness deposition transcripts were so extensively filled with sensitive information that redaction would be impracticable.
Ruling
The court granted ABC’s request. The order sealed the documents listed in Exhibit A and granted leave to file the documents listed in Exhibit B with redactions. The opinion does not state that the court ruled on ABC’s underlying motion for summary judgment or its motion to partially exclude testimony.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer entered the order on June 4, 2021.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.