Spectrum Dynamics Medical Limited v. General Electric Company
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:18-cv-11386
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Spectrum Dynamics Medical Limited v. General Electric Company, Judge Parker granted the defendants’ motions to seal and file extra pages.
The defendants obtained permission to seal the specified documents and file excess pages. Spectrum Dynamics Medical Limited may file a response of up to four pages without seeking permission. The separate discovery motion remained to be addressed.
What happened
In Spectrum Dynamics Medical Limited v. General Electric Company, the defendants asked to keep certain documents confidential and to file more pages than normally allowed in connection with a discovery motion.
The court found that the documents’ confidential and sensitive nature outweighed the reduced public-access presumption that applies to materials filed in a discovery dispute. It granted the motion to seal and granted the request to file extra pages. Spectrum Dynamics may file a response of up to four pages without seeking permission.
The court said it would address the discovery motion separately at an upcoming case-management conference. Judge Katharine H. Parker directed the clerk to terminate the two decided motions.
The detailed version
- Spectrum Dynamics Medical Limited v. General Electric Company · No. 1:18-cv-11386
- Vernon Broderick
- Nov. 7, 2022
Background
On November 4, 2022, the defendants filed a motion to seal (ECF No. 582) and a motion for leave to file excess pages (ECF No. 583). Both motions related to the defendants’ separate motion for discovery (ECF No. 584).
Motion to Seal
The court explained that court documents generally carry a presumption of public access under common law and the First Amendment. That presumption is lower for documents filed in connection with a discovery dispute than for materials introduced at trial or filed with motions that could resolve the case. The court found that the confidential and sensitive nature of the documents was sufficient to overcome the lower presumption of public access.
The court therefore granted the defendants’ motion to seal at ECF No. 582.
Excess-Pages Motion
The court also granted the defendants’ motion for leave to file excess pages at ECF No. 583. It permitted Spectrum Dynamics to file a response of up to four pages without seeking leave to exceed the usual page limit.
Remaining Discovery Motion and Disposition
The court stated that it would address the motion for discovery at ECF No. 584 separately and discuss it with the parties at the upcoming case-management conference. The clerk was directed to terminate the motions at ECF Nos. 582 and 583.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.