JMG Improvements, Inc. v. Arch Specialty Insurance Company

Background

Judge Abrams referred to Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein an application made by the plaintiff in a July 6, 2021 letter concerning the filing of material designated as confidential. The order concerns filings connected to a motion for summary judgment and the plaintiff’s cross-motion papers.

Court’s directions

The court determined that the July 6 letter, without its attachments, appeared to contain no confidential material. It directed the plaintiff to file the letter on the public docket promptly.

The court directed defense counsel to respond to the July 6 letter by filing a letter no later than July 14, 2021. It explained that the confidentiality designation in the parties’ Confidentiality Order was no longer sufficient because the material was contained in a summary-judgment motion. The defendants instead had to provide justification meeting the demanding standards applicable to sealing summary-judgment filings, as described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga.

If the defendants’ response contained confidential material, the defendants were instructed to file a redacted version on the docket and could send an unredacted courtesy copy to chambers. Until the dispute was resolved, the plaintiff was instructed to file a redacted version of its cross-motion that removed the material designated as confidential and references to it, while supplying an unredacted courtesy copy to Judge Abrams by email. If the court later ruled that the defendants had not justified some or all of the redactions, the plaintiff would have to promptly refile affected documents according to the court’s ruling.

Disposition

The order established interim filing and sealing procedures; it did not decide whether the disputed material would ultimately remain sealed. The order was signed by Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein.