Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_14-cv-02743/USCOURTS-cand-4_14-cv-02743-17/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 850
Nature of Suit: Securities, Commodities, Exchange
Cause of Action: 15:78m(a) Securities Exchange Act

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION,

Plaintiff,

v.

SALEEM M. KHAN, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 14-cv-02743-HSG 

ORDER GRANTING 

ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO SEAL

Re: Dkt. No. 117

On June 16, 2016, Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission filed an administrative 

motion for leave to file Defendant Roshanlal Chaganlal’s earnings statement under seal. Dkt. No. 

117. No opposition has been filed, and the time to do so has passed. See Civ. L.R. 7-11. For the 

reasons articulated below, the Court GRANTS the motion.

I. LEGAL STANDARD

Courts apply a “compelling reasons” standard when considering motions to seal documents 

like the ones at issue here. Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 678 (9th Cir. 2010). 

“This standard derives from the common law right ‘to inspect and copy public records and 

documents, including judicial records and documents.’” Id. “[A] ‘strong presumption in favor of 

access’ is the starting point.” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th 

Cir. 2006). To overcome this strong presumption, the moving party must “articulate compelling 

reasons supported by specific factual findings that outweigh the general history of access and the

public policies favoring disclosure, such as the public interest in understanding the judicial 

process.” Id. at 1178-79 (citations, internal quotation marks, and alterations omitted). “In general, 

‘compelling reasons’ sufficient to outweigh the public’s interest in disclosure and justify sealing 

court records exist when such ‘court files might have become a vehicle for improper purposes,’ 

Case 4:14-cv-02743-HSG Document 127 Filed 06/21/16 Page 1 of 2
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

such as the use of records to gratify private spite, promote public scandal, circulate libelous 

statements, or release trade secrets.” Id. at 1179 (citing Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598). The Court must 

“balance the competing interests of the public and the party who seeks to keep certain judicial 

records secret. After considering these interests, if the court decides to seal certain judicial 

records, it must base its decision on a compelling reason and articulate the factual basis for its 

ruling, without relying on hypothesis or conjecture.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). 

Civil Local Rule 79-5 further supplements the compelling reasons standard. The party 

seeking to file a document or portions of it under seal must “establish[ ] that the document, or 

portions thereof, are privileged, protectable as a trade secret or otherwise entitled to protection 

under the law. . . . The request must be narrowly tailored to seek sealing only of sealable 

material.” Civil L.R. 79-5(b). 

II. DISCUSSION

Having considered Plaintiff’s request to seal and the Margaret Keane declaration in support 

of Plaintiff’s motion to seal, the Court finds that Defendant Chaganlal’s earnings statement 

contains sealable information, such as sensitive personally identifying information and 

confidential financial information. The Court concludes that there are compelling reasons to file 

this document under seal to prevent any harm or prejudice by the disclosure of such 

communications.

Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s administrative motion to seal. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: June 21, 2016

______________________________________

HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR.

United States District Judge

Case 4:14-cv-02743-HSG Document 127 Filed 06/21/16 Page 2 of 2