Monterey Bay Military Housing, LLC v. Ambac Assurance Corporation

What was before the court

The court addressed three groups of matters: pre-motion letters concerning the defendants’ proposed motion for summary judgment; pre-motion letters concerning the plaintiffs’ proposed cross-motion for summary judgment on the defendants’ unclean-hands defense; and the parties’ letter motions to seal records and deposition testimony. The parties submitted unredacted copies of the sealing motions and exhibits under seal.

Briefing schedule

The court set the following schedule for the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment:

- Moving papers were due February 23, 2024. - Opposition papers were due March 22, 2024. - Reply papers, if any, were due April 5, 2024.

Sealing motions

The court denied the parties’ motions to seal because they had provided no basis for sealing. It permitted any renewed sealing motion to be filed by February 2, 2024. The court required a renewed motion to include declarations explaining particularized reasons for sealing and an analysis of applicable case law, including Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga. The court also noted that the parties’ consent or a confidentiality agreement, by itself, generally is not enough to overcome the presumption of public access to judicial documents.

Disposition

The court denied the motions to seal and set the summary-judgment briefing schedule. It directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motions pending at Docket Numbers 789–99, 805, and 808. This order did not resolve the proposed summary-judgment motions on their merits.