MOTION to File Documents Under Seal — Bofa Ca Unemployment (Dkt. 425)

Summary

The plaintiffs' motion to file documents under seal regarding their opposition to the bank's motion to stay litigation, filed 02/21/25 as Document 425 in In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation, Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB. Co-lead counsel ask to seal only the portions of their opposition that quote or convey information from the transcript of the January 17, 2025 hearing on class certification. The bank designated that material confidential and the court had already ordered it sealed. They argue a motion to stay is non-dispositive and only tangentially related to the merits, so only good cause is needed to justify sealing.

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 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB               Document 425        Filed 02/21/25      PageID.25643      Page
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 1 JOSEPH W. COTCHETT (SBN 36324)  MICHAEL RUBIN (SBN 80618)
   jcotchett@cpmlegal.com          mrubin@altber.com
 2 BRIAN DANITZ (SBN 247403)       STACEY M. LEYTON (SBN 203827)
 3 bdanitz@cpmlegal.com            sleyton@altber.com
   KARIN B. SWOPE (Pro Hac Vice)   CONNIE K. CHAN (SBN 284230)
 4 kswope@cpmlegal.com             cchan@altber.com
 5 VASTI S. MONTIEL (SBN 346409)   CAROLINE HUNSICKER (SBN 356917)
   vmontiel@cpmlegal.com           chunsicker@altber.com
 6 COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY, LLP ALTSHULER BERZON LLP
 7 840 Malcolm Road, Suite 200     177 Post Street, Suite 300
   Burlingame, CA 94010            San Francisco, CA 94108
 8 Telephone: (650) 697-6000       Telephone: (415) 421-7151
 9 Fax: (650) 697-0577             Fax: (415) 362-8064
10 Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Proposed Class
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                                UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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                              SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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15 IN RE BANK OF AMERICA                                  Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB
   CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT
16 BENEFITS LITIGATION                                    MOTION TO FILE DOCUMENTS
17                                                        UNDER SEAL RE: PLAINTIFFS’
                                                          OPPOSITION TO MOTION TO STAY
18                                                        LITIGATION
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                                                           Judge: Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel
20                                                         Ctrm: 2D (2nd Floor)
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22 This Document Relates to All Actions
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     Motion to File Documents Under Seal re: Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Motion to Stay Litigation;
     Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB
 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB               Document 425        Filed 02/21/25      PageID.25644      Page
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 1                        MOTION TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL
 2          Pursuant to Local Rule 79.2 and Section 12.5 of the Stipulated Protective Order
 3 (ECF 82) in this case and the Court’s Civil Pretrial & Trial Procedures, Plaintiffs move to
 4 file under seal portions of Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Stay Litigation
 5 (“Opposition”). Plaintiffs tailored this motion pursuant to the Court’s Order granting in
 6 part and denying in part Motions to Seal materials relating to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class
 7 Certification (ECF 365), and the Court’s Order Granting Unopposed Motion to Seal
 8 Portions of the Class Certification Hearing Transcript (ECF 421). Portions of documents
 9 lodged provisionally under seal are highlighted yellow.
10          Although there is a strong presumption in favor of public access to court records,
11 Nixon v. Warner Commc'ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978), the public has a reduced
12 interest in accessing non-dispositive motions that are “‘unrelated, or only tangentially
13 related, to the underlying cause of action,’” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447
14 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d
15 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). Because a motion to stay litigation is a non-dispositive motion
16 that is only tangentially related to the merits of the case, parties must show only “good
17 cause” to justify sealing. Omnitracs, LLC v. Platform Sci., Inc., No. 20-cv-0958, 2021 WL
18 857005, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 8, 2021); see also, Provide Com., Inc. v. Hartford Fire Ins.
19 Co., No. 12-cv-0516, 2014 WL 1877438, at *2 (S.D. Cal. May 9, 2014).
20       Plaintiffs seek to seal only those portions of their Opposition that quote or convey
21 information from the transcript of the January 17, 2025 hearing on class certification that
22 the Bank has designated as confidential and that the Court has ordered sealed. The Court
23 previously held that “compelling reasons exist to seal” these portions of the transcript. See
24 ECF 421; Defendant’s Unopposed Motion to Seal Portions of Class Certification Hearing
25 Transcript (ECF 418); Defendant’s Proposed Redactions Sought to be Filed Partially
26 Under Seal (ECF 419-A). For the reasons set forth in the Court’s prior sealing orders and
27 the declarations submitted in support of those motions to seal (ECF Nos. 344-1, 344-2,
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     Motion to File Documents Under Seal re: Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Motion to Stay Litigation;          1
     Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB
 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB               Document 425        Filed 02/21/25      PageID.25645      Page
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 1 344-3, 347-1, 347-2), Plaintiffs request that the Court seal portions of Plaintiffs’
 2 Opposition.
 3                                                 Respectfully submitted,
 4 Dated: February 21, 2025                    COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY, LLP
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                                               By: /s/ Brian Danitz
 6                                                 JOSEPH W. COTCHETT
 7                                                 BRIAN DANITZ
                                                   KARIN B. SWOPE
 8                                                 VASTI S. MONTIEL
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10 Dated: February 21, 2025                    ALTSHULER BERZON LLP
                                               By: /s/ Michael Rubin
11                                                 MICHAEL RUBIN
12                                                 STACEY M. LEYTON
                                                   CONNIE K. CHAN
13                                                 KATHERINE G. BASS
14                                                 COLIN C. JONES
                                                   CAROLINE HUNSICKER
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                                                   Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs and the
16                                                 Proposed Class
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     Motion to File Documents Under Seal re: Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Motion to Stay Litigation;          2
     Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB
 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB               Document 425        Filed 02/21/25      PageID.25646      Page
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 1                                    SIGNATURE ATTESTATION
 2          Pursuant to section 2(f)(4) of the Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and
 3 Procedures Manual, I, Michael Rubin, attest that the other signatories listed, and on whose
 4 behalf this filing is submitted, concur in the filing content and have authorized this filing.
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 6 Dated: February 21, 2025                               /s/ Michael Rubin
 7                                                           Michael Rubin

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     Motion to File Documents Under Seal re: Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Motion to Stay Litigation;          3
     Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB


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