Ultra International Music Publishing, LLC v. West
- Analisa Torres
- 1:22-cv-05560
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Ultra International Music Publishing v. West, Judge Torres granted an extension and sealing request but denied text-message service without prejudice to renewal.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Kanye West were directly affected by the rulings on the service deadline and method. The sealing ruling concerned the declaration and its access by the other parties and the public.
What happened
In Ultra International Music Publishing, LLC v. West, former counsel for Kanye West asked for more time to personally serve West with an order allowing the firm to withdraw as his lawyer. The firm also asked to serve him by text message.
The court granted the ten-day extension but denied the request for text-message service, without prejudice to renewal. The firm separately asked to file a supporting declaration privately and under seal because it contained confidential communications between lawyer and client.
Judge Analisa Torres granted the sealing request and excused the firm from serving the declaration on the other parties or their lawyers. The court directed the Clerk to terminate the related motions.
The detailed version
- Ultra International Music Publishing, LLC v. West · No. 1:22-cv-05560
- Analisa Torres
- Dec. 14, 2022
Background
Greenberg Traurig, LLP, former counsel for Defendant Kanye West, individually and doing business as “Yeezy Tech,” submitted letters concerning service of the Court’s November 30, 2022 order granting the firm’s request to withdraw as West’s counsel. The firm requested a ten-day extension of the deadline to personally serve West with that order and also requested permission to serve him by text message.
The firm separately requested permission to file a supporting declaration under seal and in camera, meaning privately for the Court’s review rather than as a publicly accessible filing. The declaration contained confidential attorney-client communications.
Rulings
The Court granted Greenberg Traurig’s request for a ten-day extension. It denied, without prejudice to renewal, the request to serve West by text message.
The Court also granted the request to file the declaration under seal and in camera. Applying the presumption of public access to court filings, the Court concluded that the firm had shown that the interests supporting restricted access outweighed that presumption. The Court also excused Greenberg Traurig from serving the declaration on the other parties or their lawyers.
The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motions at ECF Nos. 63 and 64. The order addressed service and filing procedures; it did not decide the parties’ underlying claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.