CrossBorder Solutions v. Macias
- Nelson Roman
- 7:20-cv-04877
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
CrossBorder Solutions v. Macias, Gini, & OConnell, Judge Roman granted CrossBorder’s request to seal confidential documents.
The plaintiffs, the defendants, the court, and members of the public seeking access to the specified filings were affected. The filings are accessible only to the court and the parties.
What happened
In CrossBorder Solutions, Inc. n/k/a Exactera Inc. v. Macias, Gini, & OConnell, LLP, the plaintiffs asked to seal materials filed with their amended opposition to the defendants’ summary-judgment motion.
The materials included the amended opposition, a declaration, a client order form, and spreadsheets containing information about clients, renewals, customer health, business finances, trade secrets, and claimed damages. The plaintiffs argued that protecting this confidential, nonpublic information outweighed the public’s general right to access court documents.
Judge Nelson S. Roman granted the request. He directed the court clerk to place the specified documents under seal, allowing access only to the court and the parties, and directed the clerk to terminate the motion listed at ECF No. 353.
The detailed version
- CrossBorder Solutions v. Macias · No. 7:20-cv-04877
- Nelson Roman
- Feb. 28, 2024
What the plaintiffs requested
CrossBorder Solutions, Inc. n/k/a Exactera Inc. and Cross Border Transactions, LLC d/b/a CrossBorder Solutions n/k/a Exactera LLC asked for permission to redact and file certain materials under seal. The request concerned their amended opposition to the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, the February 2, 2024 declaration of Stephanie Israel, and five exhibits to that declaration.
Materials at issue
The materials included a client-signed transfer-pricing order form and spreadsheets containing client-renewal information and customer-health notes. The plaintiffs said the documents also contained confidential information about CrossBorder’s profits, costs, clients, renewal rates, trade-secret Master List, and damages allegedly caused by theft of that Master List.
Court’s reasoning
The court recognized the common-law presumption that the public may access judicial documents—documents relevant to the court’s work and useful in the legal process. That presumption may be outweighed by competing interests, including privacy and the protection of confidential business information. The court concluded that the interests in protecting the confidential and proprietary information in these materials outweighed the presumption of public access. The court also noted that it had previously allowed CrossBorder to seal documents involving similar information.
Ruling
Judge Nelson S. Roman granted the plaintiffs’ request to file the identified documents under seal. The court directed the clerk to place ECF Nos. 341, 342, 342-1, 342-2, 342-3, 342-4, and 342-5 under seal, accessible only to the court and the parties. The court also directed the clerk to terminate the motion at ECF No. 353.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.