loanDepot.com, LLC v. CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC

Background

CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC asked for permission to file exhibits and portions of its opposition to loanDepot.com, LLC’s motion for a preliminary injunction under seal. The request covered two groups of materials:

1. Exhibits produced by loanDepot or Individual Defendants that carried “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” designations. 2. CrossCountry’s own Exhibit 7, which included customer and prospective-customer information, such as names, addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, loan information, and loan-officer information.

CrossCountry also sought to redact portions of its opposition that quoted or substantially described the materials. It relied in part on the parties’ stipulated protective order, which identified categories of information that could receive confidential treatment.

Legal standard and analysis

The court explained that judicial documents generally carry a presumptive right of public access. That presumption is not absolute, however, and the court must weigh it against competing considerations, including privacy interests.

For the materials produced by loanDepot or Individual Defendants, the court concluded that the parties’ confidentiality designations were not enough to overcome the public’s right of access, including the need to protect competitively sensitive information. The court permitted Plaintiff and Individual Defendants to file a renewed request by June 9, 2023, explaining why those materials should remain sealed under Second Circuit law.

For the documents in CrossCountry’s Exhibit 7, the court found that redaction was necessary to prevent disclosure of nonparty customers’ identities. Those individuals were not parties to the case, their identities were not material to the issues then before the court, and their privacy interests outweighed the public’s right of access at that stage.

Disposition

Judge Schofield’s order states that the application was “GRANTED in part and DENIED in part without prejudice to renewal.” The Clerk of Court was directed to close the motion at Dkt. No. 276. Currently sealed documents were to remain sealed while Plaintiff and Individual Defendants had the opportunity to renew their requests. Defendants were directed to file the memorandum of law at Dkt. 282 and Exhibit 7 at Dkt. 283 in redacted form by June 9, 2023.