MOTION to File Documents Under Seal — Bofa Ca Unemployment (Dkt. 475)

Summary

Plaintiffs' motion to file a proposed surreply under seal in opposition to the defendant's motion for a protective order, filed May 7, 2025 as Document 475 in In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation, Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Brought under Local Rule 79.2 and Section 12.5 of the Stipulated Protective Order (ECF 82), it accompanies the plaintiffs' ex parte motion for leave to file the surreply. The motion asks the court to seal portions of the surreply that quote or reference exhibits previously sealed in connection with ECF 452, ECF 464 and ECF 471, citing the orders at ECF 466 and ECF 467. It argues that only good cause is required because a protective-order motion is non-dispositive.

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 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB          Document 475      Filed 05/07/25      PageID.28797   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)                 COLIN C. JONES (SBN 354301)
   vmontiel@cpmlegal.com                         cjones@altber.com
 6 CAROLINE A. YUEN (SBN 354388)                 CAROLINE HUNSICKER (SBN 356917)
 7 cyuen@cpmlegal.com                            chunsicker@altber.com
   COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY, LLP ALTSHULER BERZON LLP
 8 840 Malcolm Road, Suite 200                   177 Post Street, Suite 300
 9 Burlingame, CA 94010                          San Francisco, CA 94108
   Telephone: (650) 697-6000                     Telephone: (415) 421-7151
10 Fax: (650) 697-0577                           Fax: (415) 362-8064
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   Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Proposed Class
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13                           UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
14                         SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
15
   IN RE BANK OF AMERICA                            Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB
16 CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT
   BENEFITS LITIGATION                              PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO FILE
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                                                    PROPOSED SURREPLY UNDER
18                                                  SEAL IN OPPOSITION TO
                                                    DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR A
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                                                    PROTECTIVE ORDER
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21                                                  Judge:      Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel
     This Document Relates to All Actions           Ctrm:       2D (2nd Floor)
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     Motion to File Documents Under Seal; Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB
 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB          Document 475      Filed 05/07/25      PageID.28798   Page
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 1         Pursuant to Local Rule 79.2 and Section 12.5 of the Stipulated Protective Order
 2 (ECF 82) in this case and the Court’s Civil Pretrial & Trial Procedures, Plaintiffs move to
 3 file under seal in connection with Plaintiffs’ Ex Parte Motion for Leave to File Surreply to
 4 Defendant’s (the “Bank”) Motion for a Protective Order, and Proposed Surreply. Plaintiffs
 5 tailored this motion pursuant to the prior Court’s Orders on the parties’ motions to seal in
 6 this case. Portions of the document lodged provisionally under seal are highlighted yellow.
 7         Although there is a strong presumption in favor of public access to court records,
 8 Nixon v. Warner Commc'ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978), the public has a reduced
 9 interest in accessing non-dispositive motions that are “‘unrelated, or only tangentially
10 related, to the underlying cause of action,’” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447
11 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d
12 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). Because a motion for a protective order is a non-dispositive
13 motion that is only tangentially related to the merits of the case, parties must show only
14 “good cause” to justify sealing. See, e.g., BAE Sys. San Diego Ship Repair Inc. v. United
15 States, 670 F. Supp. 3d 1064, 1069 (S.D. Cal. 2023) (good cause found to seal exhibits
16 containing confidential information filed in connection with apex discovery dispute).
17         Plaintiffs seek to seal portions of their surreply brief that quote or reference exhibits
18 this Court has previously ordered to be sealed in connection with the Bank’s Motion for a
19 Protective Order, ECF 452, Plaintiffs’ Opposition to the Bank’s Motion for a Protective
20 Order, ECF 464, and have been provisionally filed under seal in connection with the Bank’s
21 Reply, ECF 471. See ECF 466, ECF 467 (granting motions to seal documents in support
22 of the Bank’s Motion for a Protective Order and Plaintiffs’ Opposition to the Bank’s
23 Motion for a Protective Order); see also ECF 266 (granting motion to seal documents in
24 support of Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel Additional ESI Custodians (ECF 210, ECF 211,
25 ECF 212)); Lundstrom v. Young, 2022 WL 15524624, at *17 (S.D. Cal. Oct. 27, 2022) (J.
26 Curiel) (prior sealed documents considered when evaluating new motion to seal).
27         Accordingly, Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court seal portions of the
28 surreply brief that quote or reference previously sealed documents.

     Motion to File Documents Under Seal; Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB                         1
 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB          Document 475      Filed 05/07/25      PageID.28799   Page
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 1                                           Respectfully submitted,
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     Dated: May 7, 2025                      COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY, LLP
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                                             By:    /s/ Brian Danitz
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                                                    JOSEPH W. COTCHETT
 5                                                  BRIAN DANITZ
                                                    KARIN B. SWOPE
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                                                    DAVID G. HOLLENBERG
 7                                                  BLAIR V. KITTLE
                                                    VASTI S. MONTIEL
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                                                    CAROLINE A. YUEN
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                                              Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs and the
10                                            Proposed Class
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12 Dated: May 7, 2025                  ALTSHULER BERZON LLP
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                                             By:    /s/ Michael Rubin
14                                                  MICHAEL RUBIN
15                                                  STACEY M. LEYTON
                                                    CONNIE K. CHAN
16                                                  JAMES BALTZER
17                                                  COLIN C. JONES
                                                    CAROLINE HUNSICKER
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                                             Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs and the
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                                             Proposed Class
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     Motion to File Documents Under Seal; Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB                         2
 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB          Document 475      Filed 05/07/25      PageID.28800   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: May 7, 2025                               /s/ Michael Rubin
 7                                                     Michael Rubin

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     Motion to File Documents Under Seal; Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB                         3


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