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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
`ALEXANDRIA DIVISION
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`PHILIP MORRIS PRODUCTS S.A.,
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`Plaintiff,
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`v.
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`R.J. REYNOLDS VAPOR COMPANY,
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`Defendant.
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`Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-00393-LMB-TCB
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`[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING PHILIP MORRIS’ MOTION TO SEAL
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`This matter is before the Court on the motion filed by Plaintiff Philip Morris Products S.A.
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`(“Philip Morris”) to file a Memorandum in Support of Unopposed Motion to Lift the Partial Stay
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`on Philip Morris’ Claim for Permanent Injunctive Relief (“Motion”) and Exhibits A and C
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`(“Exhibits”) under seal pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(d) and Local Civil Rule
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`5(C). Upon consideration of Philip Morris’s motion to seal and its memorandum in support thereof
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`(“Sealing Motion”), the Court hereby FINDS as follows:
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`1.
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`The public has received notice of the request to seal and has had reasonable
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`opportunity to object. Philip Morris’ Sealing Motion was publicly docketed in accordance with
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`Local Civil Rule 5. Defendant R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (“Reynolds”) has had an opportunity to
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`respond. The “public has had ample opportunity to object” to Philip Morris’ Sealing Motion and,
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`since “the Court has received no objections,” the first requirement under Ashcraft v. Conoco, Inc.,
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`218 F .3d 288, 302 (4th Cir. 2000), has been satisfied. GTSI Corp. v. Wildflower Int'l, Inc., No.
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`09-cv-123, 2009 WL 1248114, at *9 (E.D. Va. Apr. 30, 2009); see also U.S. ex rel. Carter v.
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`Halliburton Co., No. 10-cv-864, 2011 WL 2077799, at *3 (E.D. Va. May 24, 2011) (“[T]he parties
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`Case 1:20-cv-00393-LMB-TCB Document 1369-1 Filed 06/28/22 Page 2 of 3 PageID# 33990
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`provided public notice of the request to seal that allowed interested parties a reasonable
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`opportunity to object—nearly two weeks.”).
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`2.
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`Philip Morris seeks to seal and to redact from the public record only information
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`designated by the parties as confidential. Philip Morris will file publicly a redacted version of its
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`Motion, in addition to a sealed version, and will redact only those limited portions it seeks to seal.
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`This selective and narrow protection of confidential material constitutes the least drastic method
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`of shielding the information at issue. See Adams v. Object Innovation, Inc., No. 11-cv-272, 2011
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`WL 7042224, at *4 (E.D. Va. Dec. 5, 2011) (finding that plaintiffs’ “proposal to redact only the
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`proprietary and confidential information, rather than seal the entirety of his declaration, constitutes
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`the least drastic method of shielding the information at issue”). The public has no legitimate
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`interest in the parties’ confidential information. See id. at *4 (“[T]here is no legitimate public
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`interest in disclosing the proprietary and confidential information of [the defendant] . . . and
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`disclosure to the public could result in significant damage to the company.”). The information
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`Philip Morris seeks to seal includes confidential, proprietary, and competitively sensitive business
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`information of the parties, who could face harm if such information were to be released publicly.
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`3.
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`There is support for filing portions of Philip Morris’ Motion and Exhibits A and C
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`under seal, with publicly filed versions containing strictly limited redactions. The Motion and
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`Exhibits contain material designated confidential under the stipulated protective order.
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`Accordingly, Philip Morris is required to file this material under seal pursuant to the stipulated
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`protective order. Placing these materials under seal is proper because the public’s interest in access
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`is outweighed by a party’s interest in “preserving confidentiality” of the limited amount of
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`confidential information that is “normally unavailable to the public.” Flexible Benefits Council v.
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`2
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`Case 1:20-cv-00393-LMB-TCB Document 1369-1 Filed 06/28/22 Page 3 of 3 PageID# 33991
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`Feltman, No. 08-cv-371, 2008 WL 4924711, at *1 (E.D. Va. Nov. 13, 2008); U.S. ex rel. Carter,
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`2011 WL 2077799, at *3.
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`Therefore, based on the findings above, for good cause show, it is hereby
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`ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED, and Philip Morris is granted leave to file a
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`REDACTED version of its Motion and Exhibits A and C thereto.
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`And to file UNDER SEAL an unredacted version of its Motion and Exhibits A and C
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`thereto.
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`And FURTHER ORDERED that the unredacted version of Philip Morris’ Motion and
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`Exhibits A and C thereto shall remain SEALED until further order of the Court.
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`ENTERED this ____ day of __________, 2022.
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`Alexandria, Virginia
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`__________________________________
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`3
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