Spectrum Dynamics Medical Limited v. General Electric Company

Background

Defendants General Electric Company, GE Healthcare, Inc., GE Medical Systems Israel Ltd., Jean-Paul Bouhnik, Sergio Steinfeld, Arie Eshco, and Nathan Hermony, along with non-party Yaron Hefetz, requested permission to file under seal their written responses to questions in the court’s March 24, 2022 sealed order and related exhibits. They also requested permission to file certain exhibits containing native files under seal and by email.

The request stated that the materials contained information designated “Highly Confidential” or “Confidential” under the parties’ stipulated confidentiality and protective order. It asserted that the materials included competitively sensitive and proprietary information belonging to one or both parties and that disclosure could create a substantial risk of harm. The request cited the presumption of public access to judicial documents and cases recognizing that protection of competitively sensitive business information can justify sealing.

Court’s Action

The April 6, 2022 order directs the parties to follow Rule 5.B of Judge Broderick’s Individual Rules and Practices in Civil Cases and to meet and confer as necessary to determine whether the written responses can be filed in redacted form on the electronic docket. The text does not expressly state that the requests to seal were granted or denied, and it does not expressly state whether permission was granted to file native-file exhibits by email.