Opinion ID: 512575
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Public Citizen's Motion for Access to Discovery Materials

Text: 14 On December 28, 1987, Public Citizen filed two motions in district court. In its first motion, Public Citizen sought interlocutory relief: an order mandating that the parties maintain and not destroy or return discovery materials in the Palmer case pending resolution of its second motion. This first motion was allowed by the district court the same day. The second motion sought a modification of the February 25, 1985 protective order such that all discovery materials could be freely disseminated, except for those documents in which Liggett had good cause for continued confidentiality. It also requested that the district court order the parties to file all discovery materials in court. The broad relief requested by Public Citizen seemingly applied to materials produced both by Liggett and the plaintiffs, but, in argument, Public Citizen made clear that it sought access only to the Little documents produced by Liggett. 15 Public Citizen based its access claim on Rules 5(d) and 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 5(d) provides: 16 All papers after the complaint required to be served upon a party shall be filed with the court either before service or within a reasonable time thereafter, but the court may on motion of a party or on its own initiative order that depositions upon oral examination and interrogatories, requests for documents, requests for admission, and answers and responses thereto not be filed unless on order of the court or for use in the proceeding. Rule 26(c) provides in pertinent part: 17 Upon motion by a party or by the person from whom discovery is sought, and for good cause shown, the court ... may make any order which justice requires to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense, including one or more of the following: (1) that the discovery not be had; (2) that the discovery may be had only on specified terms and conditions, including a designation of the time or place; (3) that the discovery may be had only by a method of discovery other than that selected by the party seeking discovery; (4) that certain matters not be inquired into, or that the scope of discovery be limited to certain matters; (5) that discovery be conducted with no one present except persons designated by the court; (6) that a deposition after being sealed be opened only by order of the court; (7) that a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information not be disclosed or be disclosed only in a designated way; (8) that the parties simultaneously file specified documents or information enclosed in sealed envelopes to be opened as directed by the court. 18 Rule 5(d), Public Citizen argued, creates a presumption that all discovery materials will be available to the public because they will be filed in court. Moreover, under Rule 26(c), public access can be cut off through a protective order only upon the showing of good cause. Especially in light of the district court's dismissal of the Palmers' claims in this case, Public Citizen asserted that good cause for the February 25, 1985 protective order no longer existed. Thus, it said, the order should be modified and Rule 5(d) filing of discovery materials ordered. 19 Public Citizen did not make a formal motion to intervene in the case pursuant to Rule 24. Rather, it sought to proceed informally under Rule 16(g) of the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Local Rule 16(g) is based on Rule 5(d) of the Federal Rules, but it actually reverses in part the filing presumption of Rule 5(d), by providing that discovery materials ordinarily are not to be filed in court unless so ordered by the court or for use in the proceeding. Essentially, Rule 16(g) codifies the local practice of district courts always ordering--as Rule 5(d) permits--that discovery materials otherwise subject to the Rule 5(d) filing requirement not be filed pursuant to Rule 5(d) unless the court asks that they be filed. To facilitate this scheme, Rule 16(g) provides that parties and nonparties may request that filing be ordered: 20 If for any reason a party or concerned citizen believes that any [discovery documents subject to the Rule 5(d) filing requirement] should be filed, an ex parte request may be made that such document be filed, stating the reasons therefor. The court may also order filing sua sponte. 21 Believing that Rule 16(g) thus obviated the need for obtaining formal intervenor status in order to request filing, Public Citizen sought relief as a nonparty. In the event the district court thought intervention necessary, however, Public Citizen did ask to be granted intervenor status and argued that intervention had been routinely granted in the past when nonparties sought access to judicial records. 22 Liggett opposed the motion on a number of grounds. It claimed first that Public Citizen could participate only as a Rule 24 intervenor and that the time for requesting intervention had passed. For this reason, Liggett said, Public Citizen lacked standing. Liggett also disputed Public Citizen's interpretation of Rule 5(d), maintaining that it created no general right of public access to discovery materials. Finally, Liggett argued that even if Public Citizen had standing to seek public access, there had been no showing of compelling need for a modification. 23 The district court held a hearing on January 28, 1988, with counsel for Liggett, Public Citizen and the plaintiffs present. 3 The court began by considering whether it still had jurisdiction over the matter, in light of its previous order of dismissal and judgment for Liggett on the merits. It found that jurisdiction did exist, because the outstanding protective order presented a live controversy extending past the dismissal of the underlying claims. The court also agreed with Public Citizen that there is a right of public access to discovery materials under the federal rules, a right that was especially strong in this case because of the important public health concerns surrounding the documents in question. Moreover, the court said, Liggett had failed to establish any compelling need for continuing the protective order. The court accordingly ordered that the eighteen boxes of Little documents to which the plaintiffs had access, along with the documents already in the plaintiffs' possession, be filed in court and made available to the public. 4 24 The district court issued a stay pending appeal and this appeal followed.