Securities and Exchange Commission v. AT&T Inc.

Background

AT&T asked the court for permission to file certain documents in redacted form under seal. The documents were submitted in connection with the parties’ motions for summary judgment and motions concerning expert evidence. AT&T sought redactions in 31 of more than 900 documents and in related portions of the parties’ filings.

AT&T said the material had been designated confidential under the parties’ agreement governing the exchange of confidential information. The proposed redactions covered two general categories: sensitive business information concerning a contract between AT&T and Apple, and nonpublic financial measures that AT&T said revealed its confidential business strategy. AT&T argued that disclosure of the contract information could reveal smartphone costs and permitted sales prices, creating competitive harm. It also argued that the financial information was irrelevant to the lawsuit and was not relied on in the parties’ briefing.

Defendants Christopher C. Womack, Kent D. Evans, and Michael J. Black consented to AT&T’s request. The Securities and Exchange Commission did not object and agreed to AT&T’s proposed redactions.

Legal standard

The court’s stated standard required it to determine whether the material was a judicial document, how strongly the presumption of public access applied, and whether countervailing interests or higher values outweighed that presumption. Documents submitted with a summary-judgment motion generally receive a presumption of public access, but that presumption may be overcome by specific findings supporting narrowly tailored sealing. AT&T argued that its proposed redactions were limited to information whose disclosure could cause commercial injury.

Ruling

The court granted AT&T leave to file the requested exhibits under seal. The order did not decide the parties’ summary-judgment motions, the expert-evidence motions, or the underlying claims in the case.