Sabre Global Technologies Limited v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.

Background

Sabre asked to keep sealed or redacted portions of the complaint, its opposition to Hawaiian Airlines’ motion to dismiss, Hawaiian’s reply, and Exhibit F to a declaration. Sabre argued that the documents contained terms of an active contract and negotiating information, and that disclosure could harm its competitive position in negotiations with other airlines.

The court previously had denied Hawaiian’s request to file its motion-to-dismiss brief under seal without prejudice and had directed further support for sealing. Sabre later filed the sealing motions addressed in this opinion.

Legal standard

The court explained that judicial documents—records relevant to the court’s judicial work and useful in the legal process—are presumed to be publicly accessible under both federal common law and the First Amendment. The presumption is especially strong for complaints and documents filed with motions that could resolve claims, such as motions to dismiss.

To overcome that presumption, a party must identify countervailing interests or higher values that justify secrecy and must request only the limited redactions necessary to protect those interests. General assertions of competitive harm are not enough.

Court’s analysis

The court held that the complaint and the three motion-to-dismiss filings were judicial documents entitled to a strong presumption of public access. Sabre did not provide enough information or evidence showing how disclosure of the redacted material would harm its competitive position or why that harm would outweigh the public’s interest in access.

The court also found that Sabre’s requests were not narrowly tailored. Sabre sought to redact a broad range of information concerning the agreement’s terms and conditions and its negotiating history, and sought to seal the contract at the center of its breach-of-contract claim. The court distinguished decisions allowing specific redactions of limited categories of sensitive business information.

Disposition

The court denied Sabre’s sealing motions. It directed the Clerk of Court to close the open motions at docket numbers 32, 33, 40, and 42. It also ordered Sabre to file unredacted versions of the complaint and the other sealed documents on the docket by September 5, 2023. The opinion did not decide the underlying breach-of-contract dispute or Hawaiian Airlines’ motion to dismiss.