Local Rule LR 5.6: Procedure for Filing Documents Under Seal

LR 5.6 Procedure for Filing Documents Under Seal

(A) In recognition of the right of the public to access material filed with the court, no document or other tangible item, or portion thereof, may be filed under seal without the filing of a separate motion and order to seal, unless authorized by federal statute, federal rule, or prior court order in the same case expressly authorizing the party to file certain documents (or portions thereof) under seal. All reasonable alternatives to filing under seal must be explored, including a line-by-line analysis of the documents or other tangible item (including documents marked confidential under a protective order) to redact only the truly sensitive information rather than simply seeking to file the entire document or other item under seal. The redacted document or other item may then be publicly filed, with the unredacted version filed under seal.

(B) A party must file a motion to seal a document or other tangible item at the same time that the party submits the document or other tangible item. Filing a motion to seal permits the party to provisionally file the document or other tangible item under seal, pending the court's ruling on the motion to seal. When the document or other tangible item to be sealed is a declaration or an exhibit to a document filed electronically, an otherwise blank page reading "EXHIBIT FILED UNDER SEAL" shall replace the exhibit in the document filed on the public docket, and the exhibit to be filed under seal shall be filed separately as an attachment to a Motion to File Under Seal as set forth herein.

(C) Motions to seal an entire pleading or brief are disfavored and—unless a federal statute or federal rule provides otherwise—will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances. Parties should not routinely seek to file even portions of a pleading or brief under seal. For redacted pleadings and briefs, the following procedure applies:

(1) the party shall redact the confidential information from the pleading or brief and file the redacted version on the public docket; and

(2) the party shall also file the unredacted pleading or brief under seal, as an attachment to the Motion to File Under Seal. The unredacted version must include the phrase "FILED UNDER SEAL" prominently marked on the first page and must highlight the portions for which sealing is sought.

(D) Any motion for filing materials under seal (including pleadings, motions, briefs, or attachments thereto) must be accompanied by a non-confidential supporting memorandum, and a proposed order. The proposed order must recite the findings required by governing case law to support the proposed sealing. The mere fact that certain information or material has been marked as confidential pursuant to a protective order is not dispositive of whether the information or material will be sealed when filed with the court, and reference to a stipulation or protective order is not sufficient to establish the necessity of sealing any document or other tangible item.

(1) A motion to seal a document that the movant has designated as confidential (as opposed to a document designated as confidential by another party, as discussed in subsection (2) below) must be filed as a Motion to File Under Seal. The motion must include the following:

(a) A non-confidential description of the portions of the document sought to be sealed (e.g., personal identifiers in medical records);

(b) A statement as to why sealing is necessary;

(c) Reference to governing case law; and

(d) A statement of the period of time the party seeks to have the matter maintained under seal and how the matter is to be handled upon sealing.

(2) A motion to seal a document that has been designated as confidential by another party or non-party (the "Designating Party") must be filed as a Motion to Consider Whether Another Party's Material Should Be Sealed. Service of such motion must be made on the Designating Party on the same day as the filing of the motion. The motion must include:

(a) Identification of each document or portions thereof for which sealing is sought, but need not include the information specified in subsection (1)(a)-(d) above.

(b) Within seven days of the filing, the Designating Party must file a statement and/or declaration setting forth the information described in subsection (1)(a)-(d). A Designating Party's failure to file a statement or declaration may result in the unsealing of the provisionally sealed document or other tangible item without further notice to the Designating Party.

(c) Any other party who wishes to file a response to the Motion to Consider Whether Another Party's Material Should Be Sealed must do so no later than 14 days after the motion is filed.

(3) If the court grants the motion to seal, the movant, after consulting the Designating Party (if applicable), must file a redacted version of the sealed document within 14 days of the order granting the motion to seal, which redacted version shall be linked to the original publicly filed motion.

(E) An attorney electronically filing a document or other tangible item under seal must serve opposing counsel and any unrepresented parties with the unredacted document or tangible item by means other than the court's electronic filing system, as no service of sealed filings occurs via the court's CM/ECF system. The sealed document or other tangible item shall attach a separate certificate of service reflecting the means by which service was made.

(F) Upon filing a document under seal, the clerk must provide public notice by stating on the docket that the document is sealed.

(G) When the court grants a motion to seal, the document or other tangible item will remain under seal until expiration of the seal or further order of the court. If the motion to file under seal is denied, the movant may file another motion to remove the document(s) from the record within seven days. If no such motion is timely filed, the document(s) must be filed as a public record

(H) When a pro se party who is not an electronic filer wishes to manually file a document under seal, the pro se party must file a Motion to File Under Seal and submit the document to the clerk's office securely sealed with the envelope clearly labeled "UNDER SEAL." The case number, case caption, reference to any statute, rule or order permitting the item to be sealed and a non-confidential descriptive title of the document must also be noted on the envelope.

(I) Nothing herein restricts the parties from stipulating access to materials that are not filed with the court.

(J) Except as permitted by law, trial exhibits (including documents previously filed under seal), and trial transcripts will not be filed under seal.

[Adopted February 1, 2011; Amended January 1, 2024]