Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_17-cv-04297/USCOURTS-azd-2_17-cv-04297-8/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 890
Nature of Suit: Other Statutory Actions
Cause of Action: 18:1836(a) Injunction against Misappropriation of Trade Secrets

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WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Excel Fortress Limited, et al.,

Plaintiffs,

v. 

Vaughn La Verl Wilhelm, et al.,

Defendants.

No. CV-17-04297-PHX-DWL

ORDER 

Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s unopposed motion to file certain documents 

under seal (Doc. 183). The public has a general right to inspect judicial records and 

documents, such that a party seeking to seal a judicial record must overcome “a strong

presumption in favor of access.” Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 

1178 (9th Cir. 2006). To do so, the party must “articulate compelling reasons supported 

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

public policies favoring disclosure . . . .” Id. at 1178-79 (internal quotation marks and 

citations omitted). The Court must then “conscientiously balance the competing interests 

of the public and the party who seeks to keep certain judicial records secret.” Id. at 1179 

(internal quotation marks omitted). “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).

The “stringent” compelling reasons standard applies to all filed motions and their 

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attachments where the motion is “more than tangentially related to the merits of a case.” 

Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096, 1101 (9th Cir. 2016). A

motion for full or partial summary judgment is clearly such a motion.

The documents contain trade secrets, and keeping these trade secrets confidential 

is a compelling reason that outweighs the general public right of access. Kamakana, 447 

F.3d at 1179.

Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s unopposed motion to file under seal (Doc. 183) 

is GRANTED. The Clerk of Court shall seal Exhibits 2, 3 and 4 to Exhibit A, the 

Declaration of D. Elroy Fimrite, to Plaintiff EFG America, LLC’s Response to 

Defendant’s Statement of Undisputed Material Facts and Statement of Additional 

Material Facts That Preclude Summary Judgment.

Dated this 13th day of September, 2019.

Case 2:17-cv-04297-DWL Document 185 Filed 09/13/19 Page 2 of 2