CrossBorder Solutions v. Macias

Background

Defendants Macias, Gini, O’Connell, LLP and Sanjay Agarwal requested permission to file documents under seal in connection with their amended opposition to plaintiffs’ partial motion for summary judgment. The request concerned four exhibits: excerpts and exhibits from Stephanie Israel’s second deposition, an expert report by Paul White, documents produced by Numerix in response to a subpoena, and documents produced by Brookfield Energy Group in response to a subpoena. The documents were marked “Highly Confidential.” Plaintiffs’ counsel consented to the request.

Sealing Standard and Requested Materials

The defendants acknowledged that documents filed with a summary-judgment motion generally carry a strong presumption of public access under the common law and the First Amendment. They argued that this presumption was overcome because the materials contained alleged trade secrets and confidential business information, including information from CrossBorder’s Master List, internal notes, tracking information, renewal dates and history, and internal deadlines and goals concerning clients and former clients. They asserted that public disclosure could cause competitive harm.

Ruling

The Court granted defendants’ request to file the identified documents under seal. Judge Nelson S. Roman directed the clerk to place ECF Nos. 329-1, 329-2, 329-3, and 329-4 under seal, accessible only to the court and the parties. The Court also directed the clerk to terminate the motion at ECF No. 337. This order addressed sealing only; the opinion does not decide the parties’ partial summary-judgment motion.