Susquehanna International Group Limited v. Hibernia Express Limited

Background

Susquehanna filed this action seeking confirmation of an arbitration award against Hibernia. In a December 15, 2021 letter, Susquehanna reported that Hibernia had paid the full settlement amount agreed to by the parties and stated that it no longer sought entry of a judgment. Susquehanna asked the court to dismiss the action with prejudice after resolving the parties’ revised request to seal portions of Exhibit 3 to the petition. Exhibit 3 was the parties’ Master Services Agreement.

Sealing request

The court had previously denied the parties’ sealing application. It held that the petition’s exhibits were judicial documents, meaning documents filed in court that carry a strong presumption of public access. The court directed any revised request to propose narrowly tailored redactions covering only commercially sensitive information and to explain why each redaction was necessary.

The parties’ revised request sought to seal only specified commercially sensitive terms in the Master Services Agreement. The court found that the parties adequately explained why disclosure of those terms would likely cause competitive harm to both companies. Although the agreement was a judicial document subject to a strong presumption of public access, the court concluded that sealing the specified provisions was essential to protect higher values and that the proposed redactions were narrowly tailored.

Disposition

Judge Gardephe granted the parties’ revised motion to seal. The court directed the parties to file a proposed redacted version of Exhibit 3 on the public docket and to file an unredacted version under seal. The clerk was directed to terminate the sealing motion and dismiss the case with prejudice, with each side bearing its own costs. The opinion does not state that the court separately confirmed the arbitration award.