Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 20SMCV01766, Date: 2024-01-31 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: 20SMCV01766    Hearing Date: January 31, 2024    Dept: I

The motion is CONTINUED.  The proper showing has not been made.  A record is presumed public unless confidentiality is either required by statute or a proper showing is made that there exists an overriding interest that overcomes the public’s interest and that will be impaired absent sealing, and further that the sealing is narrowly tailored and no less restrictive means of protecting the overriding interest exist.  (McGuan v. Endovascular Techs., Inc. (2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 974.)  Defendants have not even attempted such a showing in a meaningful way.  They assert that the documents to be sealed contain private financial information, trade secrets, business negotiations and information about third parties and that if the information becomes public their ability to compete would be impaired.  The proof of that comes from litigation counsel’s declaration.  The court has no reason to believe that litigation counsel has any basis to make such a declaration and she proffers no explanation or justification.  That is simply not a sufficient showing. 

That said, the court is concerned about an outright denial because once public, it is hard to unring the bell.  So if the defense wants to file things under seal, it must do it right.  The court will CONTINUE the hearing for three weeks.  The moving parties may file supplemental papers making the proper showing no later than Friday, February 2, 2024.  Oppositions and replies per code.  The hearing will be held on February 23, 2024 at 9:00 am.