Echo Bay Pharmaceuticals, LLC v. Torrent Pharma, Inc.
- Barbara Moses
- 1:20-cv-06345
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Echo Bay Pharmaceuticals v. Torrent Pharma: Judge Moses granted Torrent’s request to seal two exhibits containing proprietary business information.
Torrent Pharma, Inc.’s confidential business information will remain sealed in the identified exhibits, while public access to those exhibits is restricted. Echo Bay Pharmaceuticals, LLC did not object to the sealing request.
What happened
In Echo Bay Pharmaceuticals, LLC v. Torrent Pharma, Inc., Torrent asked the court to seal Exhibits M and N, which contained internal business and drug-development information.
Torrent said the exhibits included confidential strategy, product-development communications, facility information, and potential capital-expenditure plans. Echo Bay had requested that the documents be sealed and did not object to Torrent’s request.
Judge Moses granted the application for substantially the reasons stated in Torrent’s letter and directed the Clerk to close Docket Nos. 83 and 85. The order addressed sealing the exhibits, not the underlying dispute.
The detailed version
- Echo Bay Pharmaceuticals, LLC v. Torrent Pharma, Inc. · No. 1:20-cv-06345
- Barbara Moses
- July 26, 2021
Background
Torrent Pharma, Inc. asked the court for permission to file under seal two exhibits, labeled M and N, associated with Echo Bay Pharmaceuticals, LLC’s materials supporting its motion for permission to amend the complaint. The materials were described as part of the exhibits to the Second Amended Complaint or related amended-complaint filings.
Requested Sealing
Torrent stated that Exhibit M was an internal form concerning withdrawal of an application for a generic drug product involving fluocinonide. According to Torrent, the document revealed business strategy, internal discussions about market opportunities, information about physical facilities, and judgments concerning possible capital expenditures.
Torrent described Exhibit N as a collection of emails among Torrent employees and between Torrent and Echo Bay. Torrent said the emails contained confidential information about product development, commercialization, fluocinonide strategy, facility planning, and other strategic business matters. Torrent argued that public disclosure could harm its competitive position. The letter also stated that Echo Bay had requested sealing, that the parties had met and conferred, and that Echo Bay did not object.
Ruling
Judge Moses granted the application for substantially the reasons set out in Torrent’s letter. The letter argued that confidential business information and trade-secret material could justify sealing, and that the request was narrowly limited to the two exhibits. The court directed the Clerk of Court to close Docket Nos. 83 and 85. This order ruled on the request to seal documents and did not decide the underlying claims or amendment motion.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.