Taboola, Inc. v. Ezoic Inc.
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:17-cv-09909
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Taboola v. Ezoic, Judge Engelmayer granted Taboola’s request to seal limited sensitive revenue records.
Taboola, Inc., Ezoic Inc., Dwayne Lafleur, the publishers whose information appears in the documents, and members of the public seeking access to the court filings.
What happened
Taboola, Inc. asked the court to restrict public access to certain documents that Ezoic Inc. and Dwayne Lafleur submitted with their summary-judgment motion. The request concerned Taboola’s publisher agreements and revenue spreadsheets.
Taboola proposed leaving the agreements public with redactions for revenue splits and contract terms, while filing four revenue spreadsheets under seal. Taboola said the restrictions would protect commercially sensitive financial information about Taboola and its publishers.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer granted the request on July 6, 2021. The order addressed only the limited sealing request and did not decide the summary-judgment motion.
The detailed version
- Taboola, Inc. v. Ezoic Inc. · No. 1:17-cv-09909
- Paul Engelmayer
- July 6, 2021
Background
Taboola asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to allow limited sealing of Taboola documents that Defendants had submitted with their motion for summary judgment. The request followed an earlier court order requiring Defendants to re-file their motion papers with no redactions or substantially fewer redactions.
Requested restrictions
Taboola stated that its publisher agreements had been filed publicly, with redactions limited to publishers’ revenue splits and the durations of the agreements. Taboola also stated that spreadsheets showing the precise revenue amounts earned by Taboola and various publishers had been filed under seal. The spreadsheets were identified as Exhibits 22, 47, 48, and 59. Taboola argued that the restrictions were needed to protect confidential and commercially sensitive financial information and would not unduly interfere with public access to relevant information.
Ruling
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer granted the request. The opinion does not rule on the merits of the underlying summary-judgment motion or identify any additional limitations beyond the restrictions described in Taboola’s request.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.