Local Rule 9018-1: Secret, Confidential, Scandalous or Defamatory Matter
Bankr. M.D. Tenn. — General rule
9018-1 Secret, Confidential, Scandalous or Defamatory Matter
(a) Specific Court Order Required. No document may be filed under seal, i.e., closed to inspection or access by the public, except pursuant to a court order. A sealing order request must be narrowly tailored. No stipulation or blanket protective order that allows a party to designate documents as sealable will be entered.
(b) Request to File Document Under Seal. Counsel seeking to file a document or any portion under seal must:
(1) File by physical delivery to the bankruptcy clerk and serve a Motion to File under Seal, accompanied by a declaration establishing that the document is sealable. The motion must specify the appropriate level of public disclosure with respect to each of the following:
(A) The docket text on CM/ECF regarding the Motion to File under Seal;
(B) The Motion to File under Seal;
(C) The docket text on CM/ECF regarding the Order Granting Filing Under Seal;
(D) The Order Granting Filing Under Seal; and
(E) The docket text on CM/ECF regarding the filing of the document(s) filed under seal.
(2) Specify parties to whom the bankruptcy clerk may grant access to the sealed document(s).
(3) Attach the completed Sealed Document Cover Sheet form located on the court's website at https://www.tnmb.uscourts.gov/forms/sealed-document-cover-sheet.
(4) File by physical delivery to the bankruptcy clerk a proposed order sealing the document(s).
(5) File by physical delivery to the bankruptcy clerk the document(s) in a sealed envelope or container, with a cover sheet affixed prominently displaying the notation: "DOCUMENT SUBMITTED UNDER SEAL."
(6) If only a portion of a document is sealable, the submitting party must also file, by physical delivery to the bankruptcy clerk, a redacted version of the document to be placed in the public record if the court approves the requested sealing order; and
(7) File by physical delivery to the bankruptcy clerk a second copy of the document submitted under seal for delivery to the Judge's chambers by the clerk in an identically labeled envelope or container.
(c) Request Denied. If a request to file under seal is denied in whole or part, the bankruptcy clerk will notify the submitting party, hold the document for 14 days for the submitting party to retrieve it and, if it is not retrieved, destroy it.
(d) Effect of Seal. Unless otherwise ordered, any document filed under seal shall be kept from public access, including inspection by attorneys and parties to the action. Any document filed under seal shall be destroyed by the bankruptcy clerk unless it is retrieved by the submitting party within one year after the closing of the case or proceeding in which it was filed.