LCvR5.2 – Privacy Protection for Filings Made with the Court

LCvR5.2-1 Redaction of Personal Data Identifiers.

The responsibility for redacting personal data identifiers rests solely with counsel and the parties. The Clerk’s office will not review each pleading for compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(a). Redactions must comply with the Procedures for Redacting, available on the Court’s website.

LCvR5.2-2 Sealed Documents.

(a)

Policy. It is the policy of this Court that sealed documents, confidentiality agreements, and protective orders are disfavored. Sealed documents and confidentiality agreements may be approved by the Court only upon showing that a legally protected interest of a party, non-party, or witness outweighs the compelling public interest in disclosure of records. All protective orders dealing with confidentiality must be approved by a magistrate judge and filed of record but shall not qualify as an order to seal documents for purposes of this rule.

The Court strongly urges attorneys to present all arguments and all documents in unsealed pleadings. Where possible, attorneys should generically refer to matters covered by a protective order to avoid revealing confidential information. Agreement of the parties that a document or other material should be filed under seal or the designation of a document or other material as confidential during discovery is not, by itself, sufficient justification for allowing a document or other material to be filed under seal.

(b)

Sealed Documents in Public Cases. Anyone seeking to file a document or other material under seal in a public case must make a good faith effort to redact or seal only as much as necessary to protect legitimate interests. Blanket sealing of entire briefs, documents, or other papers is rarely appropriate. To obtain an order allowing a document or other material to be filed under seal in whole or in part, the filing party must file: (1) a motion to seal; (2) a redacted version of the document to be sealed, if applicable, filed separately as a public document; and (3) an unredacted version of the document to be sealed, which must be filed separately under seal. The relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest sought to be protected. A proposed order shall be submitted in compliance with the Procedure for Submitting Proposed Documents to the Court, available on the Court’s website. If the motion to seal is denied, the Court will direct that the document either be stricken or be unsealed.

(c)

Caption of Sealed Documents. Underneath the case number, in the style of any document sought to be sealed, the document must be marked in all caps, “SEALED.”

LCvR5.2-3 Documents Filed in Sealed Cases.

Documents to be filed in Sealed Cases (non-public cases) must be filed in paper format in compliance with the Procedure for Submitting Documents to the Court for Filing in Sealed Cases, available on the Court’s website.

LCvR5.2-4 Ex Parte Filings.

Parties do not need to file a separate motion to seal for documents filed ex parte, provided that the document is filed with the caption SEALED EX PARTE located under the case number.