Judge: Mark C. Kim, Case: 23LBCP00026, Date: 2023-04-06 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23LBCP00026    Hearing Date: April 6, 2023    Dept: S27

Petitioner, Asset Security Consulting, LLC seeks court approval of a transfer of settlement benefits from J.A. to itself.  Attached to both the petition and the amended petition is the parties’ California Transfer Agreement.  All relevant terms of the agreement, however, have been redacted.

Pursuant to CRC 2.550(c), court records are presumed to be open to the public.  Per CRC 2.551(a), papers may not be filed under seal without a prior court order.  Notably, there is no rule precluding parties from redacting documents.  The Court cannot, however, meaningfully consider the petition with all relevant terms redacted.  Because the necessary terms to the petition have been redacted, the redactions are tantamount to sealing the document without obtaining the necessary order.

The petition is denied without prejudice.  Petitioner must either file an unredacted copy of the petition or seek an order permitting it to file the petition under seal.  If it does so, it must be prepared to lodge a copy of the unredacted copy of the petition for review prior to the hearing date on the amended petition. 

Petitioner is ordered to give notice. 

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the court at gdcdepts27@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  If the department does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on the tentative and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion may be placed off calendar.  If a party submits on the tentative, the party’s email must include the case number and must identify the party submitting on the tentative.