E. Remy Martin & Co. v. Sire Spirits LLC
- Alvin Hellerstein
- 1:21-cv-06838
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In E. Remy Martin v. Sire Spirits, Judge Hellerstein granted Vetro’s motion to redact commercially sensitive designs, prices, and purchase quantities.
Vetroelite S.p.A., Vetroelite, Inc., E. Remy Martin & Co., Sire Spirits, LLC, and the public’s access to the specified court filings.
What happened
In E. Remy Martin & Co. v. Sire Spirits LLC, defendants Vetroelite S.p.A. and Vetroelite, Inc. asked to redact information in exhibits to a declaration filed with their motion to dismiss. The requested redactions covered bottle schematics, price amounts, and purchase quantities.
Sire Spirits agreed to all of the proposed redactions. E. Remy Martin & Co. agreed to redacting the price and quantity information but opposed redacting the bottle schematics. The defendants argued that the information was commercially sensitive and that competitors could use it to gain an advantage.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein granted the motion and directed the Clerk to allow defense counsel to substitute redacted copies. The ruling concerned access to documents and did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- E. Remy Martin & Co. v. Sire Spirits LLC · No. 1:21-cv-06838
- Alvin Hellerstein
- Oct. 20, 2021
Background
Vetroelite S.p.A. and Vetroelite, Inc. sought permission to redact portions of exhibits attached to the declaration of Daniele Feletto, which had been submitted in connection with the Vetro Defendants’ motion to dismiss. The proposed redactions covered price amounts and bottle schematics in Exhibit A, and information about purchased unit quantities in Exhibits B and C.
The defendants stated that the bottle schematics contained confidential product specifications concerning the Branson Bottle’s design. They also stated that the pricing and quantity information could allow competitors to gain an advantage, including by underbidding Vetroelite S.p.A. on other projects.
Positions of the Parties
Sire Spirits, LLC consented to all of the proposed redactions. E. Remy Martin & Co. consented to redacting the price and quantity information but did not consent to redacting the bottle schematics.
Court’s Action
The court’s order states: “Motion granted. The Clerk shall permit Defendant’s counsel to substitute redacted copies.” The order therefore granted the request to redact the bottle schematics, pricing information, and quantity information identified in the letter-motion.
The letter discussed the legal standard for sealing court documents, including the presumption of public access and competing interests such as privacy and protection of competitively sensitive information. This was an ancillary document-access ruling; the opinion text does not decide the merits of the underlying dispute or the pending motion to dismiss.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.