PharmacyChecker.com LLC v. National Association of Boards of Pharmacy

Background

PharmacyChecker.com LLC requested conditional sealing of materials filed with its responses to the defendants’ pre-motion letters concerning summary judgment and a Daubert issue. The requested materials were the response to the summary-judgment pre-motion letter, exhibits A through E, and the response to the Daubert pre-motion letter.

PharmacyChecker.com said the materials had been filed conditionally under a stipulated protective order because they contained protected material. The opinion states that this included documents or information derived from documents designated confidential by PharmacyChecker.com and deposition material that was presumptively still designated for outside-counsel-only review. The opinion also refers to a sealing request by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, but it does not describe that request’s specific materials.

Court’s analysis

The court stated that judicial documents are generally presumed to be accessible to the public, although that presumption is not absolute. It identified three considerations for a sealing request: whether the material is a judicial document, the strength of the presumption of public access, and whether competing interests or other important values outweigh that presumption. The court concluded that conditional sealing of the materials filed with the pre-motion letters was appropriate.

Ruling

Judge Kenneth M. Karas granted both the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s and PharmacyChecker.com’s requests to conditionally seal the materials filed in connection with the pre-motion letters. The court directed PharmacyChecker.com to file a motion to permanently seal the appropriate materials no later than May 2, 2022. It also directed the clerk to terminate the pending motions at docket entries 232 and 237.