Alves Decastro v. Kavadia
- Jesse Furman
- 1:12-cv-01386
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Alves Decastro v. Kavadia, Judge Furman denied Kavadia’s request to remove online reports or seal the case record.
Defendant Deepak Kavadia, whose request to remove online reports or seal the case record was denied; the ruling also preserved public access to the record.
What happened
In Alves Decastro v. Kavadia, Defendant Deepak Kavadia asked the court to remove online posts about the case from the New York Post’s website and several legal databases.
Kavadia said the posts were damaging his name and affecting his life and career. The court explained that ordering public reports removed would violate the First Amendment and that his embarrassment did not outweigh the strong presumption that court records should remain open to the public.
Judge Jesse M. Furman denied Kavadia’s request. The court also directed the Clerk to mail Kavadia a copy of the order.
The detailed version
- Alves Decastro v. Kavadia · No. 1:12-cv-01386
- Jesse Furman
- Feb. 23, 2024
Background
On February 15, 2024, Defendant Deepak Kavadia submitted a letter asking the court to “remove [] posts” about this case from the New York Post’s website and from online legal databases, including Justia, eDiscovery Assistant, Casetext, and Leagle. Kavadia stated that the posts were damaging his name and affecting his life and career.
Court’s analysis
The court considered Kavadia’s request in two ways. First, to the extent he sought an order requiring public reports about the case to be removed from the Internet, the court held that such an order would violate the First Amendment. Second, to the extent he sought to seal the court record, the court found that request meritless. It explained that the information was already publicly available and that Kavadia’s embarrassment did not overcome the strong presumption favoring public access to court records.
Ruling
The court denied Kavadia’s request. It also directed the Clerk to mail Kavadia a copy of the order at the address stated in the opinion.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.