Hall v. Protoons Inc.
- Analisa Torres
- 1:21-cv-02043
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hall v. Protoons Inc., Magistrate Judge Parker approved sealing and redactions protecting private financial and business information in summary-judgment materials.
Orville Hall and Phillip Price, Protoons Inc., and nonparty Universal Music Publishing Group, whose confidential financial and business information was discussed in the materials.
What happened
In Hall v. Protoons Inc., Orville Hall and Phillip Price, collectively known as “The Showboys,” asked to keep certain documents and information from public view while their summary-judgment motion was being considered.
The materials included earnings and royalty records, financial information about sampling and derivative works, and emails about royalties, copyrights, and fees. Nonparty Universal Music Publishing Group objected to publicly filing the materials because they had been marked confidential during discovery.
The court found that sealing the exhibits and redacting related information was proper because the private financial and business interests outweighed the public’s right of access. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker directed the clerk to terminate the sealing motion.
The detailed version
- Hall v. Protoons Inc. · No. 1:21-cv-02043
- Analisa Torres
- Aug. 3, 2023
Background
Plaintiffs filed a letter motion seeking to seal Exhibits M, N, and O to the Wlodinguer Declaration at ECF No. 92. They also sought redactions in related portions of their statement of undisputed facts, summary-judgment memorandum, the Wlodinguer Declaration, and portions of the Plotnicki deposition attached as Exhibit I. Nonparty Universal Music Publishing Group, referred to as UMPG, had objected to the public filing of these materials.
UMPG had produced Exhibits M, N, and O during discovery with a confidential designation. The exhibits contained plaintiffs’ royalty earnings, income information, financial information concerning sampling and derivative works, and email negotiations involving royalties, copyright interests, and other fees.
Ruling
The court determined that sealing the exhibits and redacting the related information was proper under the standard described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga. It found that the documents contained a nonparty’s private financial dealings and business information, and that the interests in privacy and protecting business and financial records outweighed the public right of access. The order approved the requested sealing and redactions and directed the clerk to terminate the motion at ECF No. 83. Judge Katharine H. Parker issued and signed the order.
Scope of the Order
This order addressed access to and redaction of specified litigation materials. It did not decide the parties’ underlying summary-judgment dispute.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.