Brown v. Prove Identity, Inc.

Background

Defendants Prove Identity, Inc. and Rodger Desai asked the court to seal five exhibits submitted with their motion to dismiss Plaintiff Matthew Brown’s complaint. The exhibits were stock-plan notices and accompanying stock-option agreements dated from 2013 through 2016. They were attached as Exhibits B through F to a declaration supporting the motion to dismiss.

Request to Seal

Defendants argued that the exhibits contained confidential, nonpublic business and financial information, including stock-option terms, exercise prices, vesting dates, the number of shares awarded, and information that could reveal Prove’s historical valuation. They asserted that disclosure could give competitors detailed information about Prove’s compensation practices, harm its competitive position, and interfere with its efforts to attract and retain employees. Defendants also argued that the documents were only partly relevant to the issues raised by the motion to dismiss, making the public-access interest weaker. The letter stated that Brown did not intend to oppose the request.

Ruling

The order states: “GRANTED.” The court therefore granted Defendants’ request to seal the five Option Grant Notices attached as Exhibits B through F. The clerk was directed to terminate the motion at Electronic Court Filing No. 27. Judge Analisa Torres signed the order on March 20, 2024. The text provided does not include a separate explanation of the court’s reasoning beyond the parties’ sealing request and the “GRANTED” order.