Michele Metcalf v. Transperfect Global Inc.

Background

Plaintiffs Michele Metcalf and Hannah Lawson asked the court for permission to file under seal an unredacted version of their response to objections to a November 15, 2022 recommended decision, along with two exhibits attached to the declaration of Andrew C. White. They also asked to file redacted versions as the public filings.

The request stated that the parties were subject to a stipulated protective order. According to the request, defendant TransPerfect Translations International, Inc., referred to as “TransPerfect,” had designated two exhibits as confidential: a spreadsheet containing internal estimates of overtime pay for certain employees and a September 17, 2019 retroactive payment letter to an employee. The plaintiffs said the filings would redact references to those materials and stated that the documents contained claimed trade secrets or commercially sensitive business information. The plaintiffs did not take a position on whether the designations were proper and reserved their right to challenge them under the protective order.

Legal standard described in the request

The request explained that court documents generally carry a presumption of public access. It cited Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), which allows a court, for good cause, to require documents or information to be filed under seal. It also stated that sealing must be supported by specific findings showing that it is necessary to protect a higher value and is narrowly tailored to that purpose.

Ruling

The court granted the plaintiffs’ requests. Judge Edgardo Ramos allowed the plaintiffs to file unredacted versions of their response and Exhibits 1 and 2 attached to the White Declaration under seal. The court also allowed the redacted versions of the response and those exhibits to be filed electronically for public access. The provided text does not contain a ruling on the underlying claims in the case.