Colony Insurance Company v. Riverside Center Site 5 Owner LLC
- Alvin Hellerstein
- 1:22-cv-06041
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Colony Insurance Company v. Riverside Center Site 5 Owner LLC, Riverside asked to seal exhibits; Judge Hellerstein’s ruling is not included.
Riverside Center Site 5 Owner, LLC requested protection for materials involving its defense of the underlying action; Colony Insurance Company and the public could be affected by any later ruling on access to those materials.
What happened
Colony Insurance Company v. Riverside Center Site 5 Owner, LLC is an insurance-coverage dispute. Riverside submitted papers opposing Colony’s request for summary judgment and asked that certain materials be filed under seal.
Riverside said the materials included attorney-client communications, attorney work product, claim notes, deposition testimony, emails, and status reports concerning an underlying action. Riverside argued that these materials contained sensitive and privileged information.
The submitted text is Riverside’s request letter to Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, not a court order. It does not state whether Judge Hellerstein granted or denied the request to seal.
The detailed version
- Colony Insurance Company v. Riverside Center Site 5 Owner LLC · No. 1:22-cv-06041
- Alvin Hellerstein
- Aug. 24, 2023
Nature of the Document
The provided text is a letter from counsel for Riverside Center Site 5 Owner, LLC, to Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein. It asks for permission to file certain exhibits and portions of opposition papers under seal. The text does not include a judicial ruling or order deciding that request.
Background
Colony Insurance Company filed a motion for summary judgment in an insurance-coverage dispute. Colony also filed some materials under seal and requested permission to redact certain information. Colony connected the dispute to an underlying action involving Riverside in New York Supreme Court.
Riverside filed opposition papers and supporting documents. Riverside said some of those materials discussed its defense of the underlying action, communications with its defense counsel, claim notes from Colony’s file, deposition testimony, and confidential reports and emails about litigation strategy.
Sealing Request
Riverside asked the court to seal portions of its responses to Colony’s statement of material facts and its memorandum opposing summary judgment. It also asked to seal portions of exhibits attached to a declaration by Jonathan P. Whitcomb, including deposition testimony, claim notes, status reports, and emails involving Riverside, Colony, and defense counsel.
Riverside relied on attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine. Attorney-client privilege generally protects certain confidential communications between a lawyer and client. The work-product doctrine generally protects materials prepared in connection with litigation. Riverside also acknowledged the presumption that judicial records should be publicly accessible, while arguing that privileged and confidential materials may be withheld when necessary.
Disposition
The provided text contains only Riverside’s request. It does not say whether the court granted, denied, or otherwise resolved the request to seal, and it does not provide a ruling on Colony’s summary-judgment motion.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.