Huzhou Chuangtai Rongyuan Investment Management Partnership v. Qin

Background

The petitioners—Huzhou Chuangtai Rongyuan Investment Management Partnership, Huzhou Huihengying Equity Investment Partnership, and Huzhou Huirongsheng Equity Investment Partnership—asked for permission to file certain materials with redactions and other materials under seal. The request accompanied their renewed motion to compel, for sanctions, and for an order of civil contempt.

The materials included a reply memorandum, declarations, documents produced by Hui Qin, deposition video clips and excerpts, WeChat communications, and other exhibits. The petitioners stated that the materials contained sensitive personal and financial information, including bank-account information, bank statements, and tax-return information. They also stated that many materials had been marked confidential under the parties’ stipulated protective order.

Legal standard described in the request

The request cited the common-law presumption that the public may access judicial documents. It also cited the rule that courts balance that presumption against competing interests, including privacy interests. The petitioners argued that protecting confidential personal and financial information outweighed public access in this instance.

Ruling

Judge Katherine Polk Failla marked the application “GRANTED.” The Clerk of Court was directed to maintain docket entries 207, 209, and 211 under seal, viewable only by the parties and the Court. The Clerk was also directed to terminate the motion at docket entry 206. The order addressed access to the specified filings and did not decide the underlying renewed motion to compel, sanctions request, or civil-contempt request.