Zucaro v. Venable
- John Cronan
- 1:21-cv-08775
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Zucaro v. Venable, Judge Cronan granted plaintiffs’ request to keep Exhibit C sealed and complaint references redacted.
The plaintiffs, the defendant, and the third parties whose privacy interests were identified in connection with the confidential agreement. Exhibit C remains under seal, and references to it in the complaint remain redacted.
What happened
In Zucaro v. Venable, the plaintiffs asked the court to continue protecting certain documents filed with their complaint. The request concerned an agreement attached as Exhibit C and references to that agreement in the complaint.
The plaintiffs said the agreement was confidential and that keeping it private would protect the interests of the people who signed it, including third parties who were not involved in the lawsuit. They also said the redactions were limited to about 15 lines and a short table, and that another exhibit containing the arbitration proceedings remained available.
Judge John P. Cronan granted the request. Exhibit C was to remain under seal, and references to it in the complaint were to remain redacted.
The detailed version
- Zucaro v. Venable · No. 1:21-cv-08775
- John Cronan
- Nov. 10, 2021
Background
The plaintiffs filed a letter motion asking the court to continue an earlier order allowing certain initial case documents to be filed in redacted form and under seal. The earlier order had authorized a redacted complaint and redaction of an agreement attached as Exhibit C. It stated that the complaint would remain sealed only until November 10, 2021, unless a party applied to keep the seal in place for a good reason.
Request
The plaintiffs asked that Exhibit C remain sealed and that references to the agreement in the complaint remain redacted. They stated that the agreement was confidential under an understanding among the plaintiffs, the defendant, and certain third parties who were not parties to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs argued that the request was narrow and would protect those privacy interests. They also explained that they had not yet successfully served the defendant and therefore had not been able to discuss the redactions with him or his lawyer.
Ruling
Judge John P. Cronan granted the request. The order states that Exhibit C to the plaintiffs’ complaint shall remain under seal and that references to Exhibit C in the complaint shall remain redacted. The order addressed access to and protection of filed documents; it did not decide the underlying dispute.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.