Dow Olefinverbund GmbH v. Trinseo Deutschland GmbH

Nature of the Filing

The provided document is a memorandum of law filed on behalf of petitioner Dow Olefinverbund GmbH. It supports Dow’s request to seal Exhibit C to the declaration of Nathan P. Eimer, which was filed with Dow’s petition to confirm an arbitral award. A petition to confirm an arbitral award asks a court to recognize and enforce an arbitration decision.

Parties and Document at Issue

The respondent is Trinseo Deutschland GmbH, formerly identified as Styron Deutschland GmbH. Exhibit C is a Site Services Agreement between Dow and Trinseo. According to Dow’s filing, the agreement governs services Dow provides to Trinseo at the parties’ shared production site in Schkopau, Germany, including electricity, fuel gas, steam, and cooling water. Dow says the agreement contains detailed information about the costs and quantities of those inputs.

Arguments for Sealing

Dow argues that the agreement contains proprietary and competitively sensitive business information. It contends that public disclosure could allow competitors to estimate Dow’s and Trinseo’s costs, manufacturing capacities, profit margins, and other business information, potentially allowing competitors to undercut them.

Dow also argues that the public’s interest in the agreement’s specific commercial terms is limited. It says the public’s interest in monitoring the court system will be served by publicly filing the petition to confirm the arbitration award, the Partial Final Award, and the Final Award, which Dow states summarize the arbitration and the arbitrator’s ruling.

Legal Standard Cited

The memorandum cites the general presumption that judicial records should be accessible to the public, while explaining that a court may restrict access when countervailing interests—such as protecting confidential business information—outweigh the public interest in disclosure. Dow relies on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(d) and decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Southern District of New York.

Requested Relief and Disposition

Dow asks the court to enter an order sealing Exhibit C. The provided text does not include such an order and does not state whether Judge Kaplan granted, denied, or otherwise resolved the request.