Grasty v. Olivo
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:22-cv-07791
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Grasty v. Olivo, Judge Karas granted the parties’ request to seal their settlement agreement, limiting access to the court and parties.
The parties to the settlement agreement and members of the public seeking access to the federal court docket; the agreement is accessible only to the court and the parties.
What happened
In Grasty v. Olivo, the plaintiff’s lawyer told the court that defendants’ lawyer had provided a copy of a settlement check and said it had been mailed. The plaintiff therefore withdrew an enforcement application.
The parties also asked the court to seal the settlement agreement because it contained the settlement amount and was subject to confidentiality provisions. They requested that the agreement be sealed or removed from the public docket.
Judge Kenneth M. Karas granted the request. He directed the clerk to seal the settlement agreement so that it would be accessible only to the court and the parties.
The detailed version
- Grasty v. Olivo · No. 7:22-cv-07791
- Kenneth Karas
- Aug. 24, 2023
Background
The plaintiff’s counsel reported that defendants’ counsel had provided a copy of the settlement check and represented that the check had been mailed. Counsel stated that this was sufficient for the plaintiff’s purposes and withdrew the enforcement application.
The parties had submitted the settlement agreement to the court after the court directed them to do so for retention of jurisdiction. The submission did not redact the settlement amount. The defendants were concerned that this disclosure violated the agreement’s confidentiality provisions.
Request to Seal
On behalf of all parties, the plaintiff’s counsel asked the court to seal the portion of the record containing the settlement agreement. The request sought an order directing the clerk to seal or remove the agreement from the docket.
Ruling
Judge Kenneth M. Karas granted the request. The clerk was directed to seal the settlement agreement so that it would be accessible only to the court and the parties. The opinion does not otherwise address the settlement’s terms or the merits of the underlying dispute.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.