CrossBorder Solutions v. Macias
- Nelson Roman
- 7:20-cv-04877
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In CrossBorder Solutions v. MGO, Judge Roman granted CrossBorder’s request to file specified documents under seal.
CrossBorder, MGO, Agarwal, and the other parties whose confidential information appears in the documents are affected by the sealing order; public access to the specified materials is restricted.
What happened
In CrossBorder Solutions, Inc. n/k/a Exactera Inc. v. Macias, Gini, & OConnell, LLP, the plaintiffs asked permission to file certain documents under seal under the parties’ confidentiality agreement and protective order.
The documents included portions of court filings, declarations, emails, agreements, deposition excerpts, and other materials. CrossBorder said they contained trade-secret information, client and pricing information, or information marked confidential by CrossBorder, MGO, or former defendants Hoy and Song.
Judge Nelson S. Roman granted CrossBorder’s request and directed the Clerk to terminate the sealing motion. The court concluded that the parties’ interests in protecting the confidential information outweighed the presumption that judicial documents should be available to the public.
The detailed version
- CrossBorder Solutions v. Macias · No. 7:20-cv-04877
- Nelson Roman
- Jan. 13, 2023
Background
The court considered a request by plaintiffs CrossBorder Solutions, Inc. and Cross Border Transactions, LLC, doing business as CrossBorder Solutions (together, “CrossBorder”), for permission to file documents under seal. The request relied on the parties’ Stipulated Confidentiality Agreement and Protective Order dated September 29, 2020. The request concerned materials filed in connection with CrossBorder’s motion for partial summary judgment and its statement of undisputed material facts.
Documents at Issue
The requested materials included portions of CrossBorder’s memorandum of law and statement of facts; portions of a declaration and an exhibit; text messages; confidentiality and nonsolicitation agreements; offer letters; emails involving MGO personnel, CrossBorder personnel, and clients; cease-and-desist letters; a corrected final award from a parallel arbitration; and excerpts from depositions. The request stated that the documents would be available to the court and to defendants Macias, Gini & O’Connell LLP (“MGO”) and Sanjay Agarwal.
CrossBorder argued that some materials contained all or parts of its trade-secret Master List. It also said other materials contained information obtained from that list, including client contact information, customer preferences, and pricing information, or had been marked confidential or highly confidential at the request of former defendants Hoy and Song or defendant MGO. Counsel for MGO and Agarwal consented to the request.
Legal Standard
The court recognized a common-law presumption favoring public access to judicial documents—documents relevant to the court’s work and useful in the judicial process. It weighed that presumption against competing interests, including the privacy and confidentiality interests of those opposing disclosure.
Ruling
Judge Nelson S. Roman granted CrossBorder’s request to file the specified documents under seal. The court concluded that the parties’ interests in protecting the confidential CrossBorder and MGO information overcame the presumption of public access. The court directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion at ECF No. 217. This order addressed sealing only; the opinion does not decide the merits of the partial-summary-judgment motion.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.