Thales Avionics, Inc. v. L3 Technologies, Inc.

Background

Thales Avionics asked for permission to file under seal its February 9, 2024 letter and Exhibits 2 and 3 attached to that letter. The request stated that Exhibit 2 was a recent communication covered by a confidentiality agreement between Thales, S.A. and L3Harris Technologies, Inc. It also stated that the court had previously ordered Exhibit 3 to be treated as highly confidential and limited its disclosure to outside counsel’s eyes only.

Thales Avionics said it had no objection to filing the documents publicly but asked for sealing because Exhibit 2 might contain competitively sensitive information protected by the parties’ nondisclosure agreement, and because of the earlier restriction on Exhibit 3. The application cited decisions recognizing business secrecy and potential competitive harm as interests that can outweigh the presumption of public access to court records.

Ruling

The court granted Thales Avionics’s application. It ordered that Thales Avionics’s February 9, 2024 letter and Exhibits 2 and 3 remain under seal. The clerk was directed to terminate the application. Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky signed the order.

Classification

This is a procedural order concerning the sealing of court documents. It does not decide the underlying dispute between the parties.