Kuehne + Nagel Inc. v. Baker Hughes
- Alison Nathan
- 1:21-cv-08470
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Kuehne + Nagel v. Baker Hughes, Judge Nathan granted the parties’ motion to seal their transportation agreement, subject to possible later review.
Kuehne + Nagel Inc. and Baker Hughes Company, whose agreement may be filed under seal for now; continued sealing may later be subject to additional justification.
What happened
Kuehne + Nagel Inc. and Baker Hughes Company jointly asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to file their global transportation agreement under seal.
The court granted the motion for now. It said a confidentiality order alone does not overcome the public’s presumptive access to court documents, and warned that continued sealing might require more justification if the agreement becomes a court document in the litigation.
Judge Alison J. Nathan issued the order on February 10, 2022.
The detailed version
- Kuehne + Nagel Inc. v. Baker Hughes · No. 1:21-cv-08470
- Alison Nathan
- Feb. 10, 2022
Background
The parties jointly sought permission to file under seal their global transportation agreement. The agreement requires permission from multiple parties before its confidentiality can be waived for public filing.
Court’s reasoning
The court noted that Second Circuit precedent recognizes a presumption that the public may access judicial documents. A confidentiality order by itself does not override that presumption. Because the agreement required permission from multiple parties to waive confidentiality, the court allowed sealing at this stage. The court cautioned that continued sealing might require additional justification later if the agreement qualifies as a judicial document.
Disposition
Judge Alison J. Nathan granted the motion to file the agreement under seal. The order did not state that the sealing would remain in place permanently.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.