Judge: Armen Tamzarian, Case: 22STCV34344, Date: 2024-11-20 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV34344    Hearing Date: November 20, 2024    Dept: 52

Defendant Gallery Department LLC’s Motion to Seal

Defendant Gallery Department LLC moves to seal part of attorney Gary Adelman’s pro hac vice application.  Defendant moves to seal the portion of the application stating Adelman’s residence address.

California Rules of Court, rule 2.550(d) provides:

A court may order that a record be filed under seal only if it expressly finds facts that establish:

(1) There exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record;

(2) The overriding interest supports sealing the record;

(3) A substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be prejudiced if the record is not sealed;

(4) The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored; and

(5) No less restrictive means exist to achieve the overriding interest.

An overriding interest overcomes the right of public access to the sealed portion of the record.  Adelman has a significant interest in maintaining the privacy of his home address.  “ ‘[I]ndividuals have a substantial interest in the privacy of their home.’ ”  (Life Technologies Corp. v. Superior Court (2011) 197 Cal.App.4th 640, 653, disapproved on other grounds by Williams v. Superior Court (2017) 3 Cal.5th 531, 557, fn. 8.)  The interest in public access to that information is, at most, minimal.  Adelman’s residence address is not related to the merits of this action.  He is only required to state his address because he is not a member of the State Bar of California and he applies to appear as counsel pro hac vice.  (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.40(d)(1).)  The fact that Adelman is not a member of the State Bar of California does not give the public an interest in knowing his home address.

The overriding interest supports sealing the record.  If the record is not sealed, the public will have access to Adelman’s home address, thereby prejudicing his interest in privacy.  The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored.  The publicly filed version of the document redacts only Adelman’s home address.  There is no less restrictive means to protect Adelman’s privacy.

Defendant Gallery Department’s motion to seal records is granted.  The court hereby seals the unredacted version of Gary Adelman’s application to appear pro hac vice.

Applications to Appear Pro Hac Vice by Gary Adelman and Madyson Nucci

The applications to admit attorneys Gary Adelman and Madyson Nucci to appear as counsel pro hac vice for defendant Gallery Department, LLC are granted.