The Trustees of the New York State Nurses Association Pension Plan v. White Oak…

Background

The Trustees petitioned to confirm an arbitration award. White Oak moved to vacate part of the award. Before the case was assigned to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, the petition and related documents were temporarily filed under seal so White Oak could decide whether to seek continued sealing. White Oak later asked to keep two exhibits attached to the petition under seal and to seal eight exhibits attached to its own papers supporting its motion to vacate.

Arguments

White Oak argued that the documents were not “judicial documents,” meaning filings relevant to the court’s work and useful in deciding the case, and therefore did not receive a presumptive right of public access. It also argued that a business agreement between the parties required confidentiality and that disclosure could potentially cause commercial harm. The Trustees opposed keeping any of the documents sealed.

Court’s analysis

The court held that the documents were judicial documents because the parties placed them in the court record based on their relevance to the judicial process. The court also relied on Second Circuit authority stating that documents submitted for consideration on a summary judgment motion are judicial documents subject to a strong presumption of public access. It found no meaningful distinction between those documents and the filings at issue here, including materials submitted in connection with the petition to confirm the arbitration award.

The court rejected White Oak’s commercial-harm argument as a vague, unsworn, and conclusory assertion that identified no specific harm or probability of harm. It further held that the parties’ confidentiality obligations and the confidential nature of the arbitration did not overcome the presumption of public access. The arbitration confidentiality order also contained an exception allowing the use of party-designated confidential materials in proceedings to enforce or annul an arbitration award.

Disposition

Judge Kaplan denied White Oak’s letter motion to seal, Docket 9, in all respects. The court ordered that all documents previously sealed in whole or in part be unsealed. The Trustees were directed to take steps with the Clerk to unseal the two petition exhibits that remained sealed, and White Oak was directed to do the same for all of its previously sealed materials. This opinion concerns access to the filings; the text provided does not state the outcome of the petition to confirm or the motion to vacate the arbitration award.