Huzhou Chuangtai Rongyuan Investment Management Partnership v. Qin
- Katherine Failla
- 1:21-cv-09221
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Huzhou Chuangtai Rongyuan Investment Management Partnership v. Qin: Judge Failla granted a third party’s request to seal a docket entry.
Third-party “Emma” Duo Liu, the petitioners, the respondent Qin, and the court and parties with access to docket entry 400.
What happened
In Huzhou Chuangtai Rongyuan Investment Management Partnership v. Qin, third-party “Emma” Duo Liu asked the court to seal a letter and exhibit filed by the petitioners.
Liu’s counsel said the materials contained confidential information about Liu, who was not a judgment-debtor in the case, and referred to an ongoing criminal investigation. The request relied on a protective order and the privacy interests of a third party.
The court granted the application, directed the clerk to seal docket entry 400 so that only the court and parties could view it, and directed the clerk to terminate the pending motion at docket entry 407. Judge Katherine Polk Failla signed the order.
The detailed version
- Huzhou Chuangtai Rongyuan Investment Management Partnership v. Qin · No. 1:21-cv-09221
- Katherine Failla
- Mar. 4, 2024
Request to Seal
Third-party “Emma” Duo Liu asked the court to seal the petitioners’ February 29, 2024 letter and Exhibit A, identified as docket entries 400 and 400-1. Liu’s counsel relied on the parties’ stipulated protective order, which also covered third-party discovery.
The request stated that the materials contained confidential information concerning Liu. It also stated that Liu was not a judgment-debtor in the case, but was a third party whose private affairs had been drawn into the dispute, and referred to an ongoing criminal investigation. The filing discussed the presumption that court records are available to the public and the need to narrowly tailor sealing or redactions, while arguing that Liu’s privacy interests justified restricting access.
Ruling
The court granted the application. It directed the clerk to seal docket entry 400, making it viewable only to the court and the parties. The court further directed the clerk to terminate the pending motion at docket entry 407. The order was signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.