Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 19SMCV00543, Date: 2024-01-25 Tentative Ruling

If the parties wish to submit on the tentative ruling and avoid a court appearance on the matter, the moving party must contact the opposing party and all other parties who have appeared in the action and confirm that each will submit on the tentative ruling. Please call the court no later than 4:30 p.m. on the court day before the hearing, leave a message with the court clerk at (310) 260-3629 advising her that all parties will submit on the tentative ruling and waive hearing, and finally, serve notice of the Court's ruling on all parties entitled to receive service. If any party declines to submit on the tentative ruling, then no telephone call is necessary, and all parties should appear at the hearing.

Case Number: 19SMCV00543    Hearing Date: February 8, 2024    Dept: I

The motion to compel is GRANTED.  The matter had been continued to allow Cleanstreet—a party to the agreement that is the subject of the motion—to be heard.  Cleanstreet has elected not to file any papers.  The court sees no compelling reason that this obviously pertinent document ought not be produced.  The agreement could well be directly relevant to the case and the basis for confidentiality appears to be minimal at best.  While the court is aware of the appellate authority suggesting that parties entering into a confidential settlement agreement have a real interest in privacy and that enforcing the confidentiality clause furthers the public policy favoring settlements, the court finds that interest easily outweighed by the need to do justice in this case—especially given that this case is related to the matter settled in the agreement and the agreement must have been negotiated with the fact that it would be sought here in mind.  Further, of course, it is fundamental that litigants are entitled to “every man’s evidence.”  (12 Parliamentary history of England 693 (1812), quoted in Trump v. Vance (2020) 591 U.S. ___, 140 S.Ct. 2412, 207 L.Ed.2d 907.)  The documents in question will be produced within one court day.  The documents may be marked “Confidential” pursuant to the confidentiality agreement, but that is not a finding that they are confidential for purposes of filing under seal.  The court has not been called upon to do that analysis nor has it done so.