Federal Trade Commission v. IQVIA Holdings Inc.

Background

IQVIA Holdings Inc. moved to seal a limited portion of its reply supporting a letter motion concerning a proposed amendment to a protective order. It also asked to file Exhibit D entirely under seal and to file a partially redacted version of the reply publicly.

IQVIA argued that the materials referred to information the Federal Trade Commission had filed under seal and claimed was protected under federal statutes and a regulation. IQVIA described the information as confidential business information gathered during the FTC’s non-public investigation into a proposed merger. It also said the materials included confidential, non-public information about third parties not affiliated with either party to the action.

Court’s reasoning

The court’s order states that the request was granted. The order permits the information identified in the request to be redacted from the publicly available reply and permits the unredacted reply to be filed under seal. The Clerk was directed to seal the unredacted reply as to the FTC, IQVIA, and Propel.

The opinion text includes IQVIA’s explanation of the three-step public-access analysis used in the Second Circuit: determining whether a filing is a judicial document, assessing the weight of the public-access presumption, and balancing competing interests such as privacy. IQVIA argued that the proposed redactions were narrow and protected confidential information while leaving the material relevant to the court’s decision unobstructed. The order itself does not address the merits of the proposed merger or the underlying dispute.

Disposition

Judge Ramos granted the sealing request. The order does not state that the case was dismissed or that any claim was decided.