Case 1:20-cv-00393-LO-TCB Document 474-1 Filed 03/09/21 Page 1 of 4 PageID# 10599
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
`ALEXANDRIA DIVISION
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`RAI STRATEGIC HOLDINGS, INC. and
`R.J. REYNOLDS VAPOR COMPANY,
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`Plaintiffs and Counterclaim Defendants,
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`v.
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`ALTRIA CLIENT SERVICES LLC; PHILIP
`MORRIS USA, INC.; and PHILIP MORRIS
`PRODUCTS S.A.,
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`Defendants and Counterclaim Plaintiffs.
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`Case No. 1:20-cv-00393-LO-TCB
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`[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING PMP’S MOTION TO SEAL
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`This matter is before the Court on the motion filed by Defendant Philip Morris Products
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`S.A. (“PMP”) to seal un-redacted versions of Exhibits A and B to PMP’s Memorandum in
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`Support of Motion for Leave to Amend Counterclaims to Add Injunctive Relief pursuant to
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`Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(d) and Local Civil Rule 5(C). (Dkt. 466.) Because the
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`documents that PMP seeks to seal contain confidential, proprietary, and competitively sensitive
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`business information of the Plaintiffs RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc., and R.J. Reynolds Vapor
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`Company’s (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), Plaintiffs filed a memorandum in support of PMP’s
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`sealing request.
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`Before this Court may seal documents, it must: “(1) provide public notice of the request
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`to seal and allow interested parties a reasonable opportunity to object, (2) consider less drastic
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`alternatives to sealing the documents, and (3) provide specific reasons and factual findings
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`supporting its decision to seal the documents and for rejecting the alternatives.” Ashcraft v.
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`Conoco, Inc., 218 F.3d 282, 288 (4th Cir. 2000) (internal citations omitted). Upon consideration
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`Case 1:20-cv-00393-LO-TCB Document 474-1 Filed 03/09/21 Page 2 of 4 PageID# 10600
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`of PMP’s motion to seal and its memorandum in support thereof, the Court hereby FINDS as
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`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. PMP’s sealing motion was publicly docketed on March 1, 2021, in
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`accordance with Local Civil Rule 5. Plaintiffs have filed a memorandum in support of sealing.
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`The “public has had ample opportunity to object” to PMP’s motion and, since “the Court has
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`received no objections,” the first requirement under Ashcraft, 218 F.3d at 302, has been satisfied.
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`GTSI Corp. v. Wildflower Int’l, Inc., No. 1:09-cv-123-JCC, 2009 WL 1248114, at *9 (E.D. Va.
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`Apr. 30, 2009); U.S. ex rel Carter v. Halliburton Co., No. 1:10-cv-864-JCC/TCB, 2011 WL
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`2077799, at *3 (E.D. Va. May 24, 2011) (“[T]he parties provided public notice of the request to
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`seal that allowed interested parties a reasonable opportunity to object—nearly two weeks.”).
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`2.
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`PMP seeks to seal and redact from the public record only information designated
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`by the parties as confidential. PMP has filed publicly redacted version of un-redacted versions of
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`Exhibits A and B to PMP’s Memorandum in Support of Motion for Leave to Amend
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`Counterclaims to Add Injunctive Relief (Dkt. 464), in addition to sealed versions, and have
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`redacted only those limited portions it seeks to seal. This selective and narrow protection of
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`confidential material constitutes the least drastic method of shielding the information at issue.
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`Adams v. Object Innovation, Inc., No. 3:11-cv-272-REP-DWD, 2011 WL 7042224, at *4 (E.D.
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`Va. Dec. 5, 2011) (The “proposal to redact only the proprietary and confidential information,
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`rather than seal the entirety of his declaration, constitutes the least drastic method of shielding
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`the information at issue.”). The public has no legitimate interest in information that is
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`confidential to Plaintiffs. Id. at *4 (“[T]here is no legitimate public interest in disclosing the
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`proprietary and confidential information of [the defendant] … and disclosure to the public could
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`Case 1:20-cv-00393-LO-TCB Document 474-1 Filed 03/09/21 Page 3 of 4 PageID# 10601
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`result in significant damage to the company.”). The information that PMP seeks to seal includes
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`confidential, proprietary, and competitively sensitive business information of Plaintiffs, and/or
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`third parties, each of which could face harm if such information were to be released publicly.
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`Specifically, the sensitive information that PMP’s move for leave to file under seal, and to redact
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`from a publicly filed version, includes proprietary and commercially sensitive business
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`information of Plaintiffs and/or third parties.
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`3.
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`There is support for filing portions of PMP’s Exhibits A and B to PMP’s
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`Memorandum in Support of Motion for Leave to Amend Counterclaims to Add Injunctive Relief
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`under seal, with publicly filed versions containing strictly limited redactions. PMP’s Exhibits A
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`and B to PMP’s Memorandum in Support of Motion for Leave to Amend Counterclaims to Add
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`Injunctive Relief contain material that falls within the scope of the stipulated protective order.
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`Placing these materials under seal is proper because the public’s interest in access is outweighed
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`by a party’s interest in “preserving confidentiality” of the limited amount of confidential
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`information that is “normally unavailable to the public.” Flexible Benefits Council v. Feltman,
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`No. 1:08-cv-371-JCC, 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 shown, it is hereby
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`ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED, and PMP is granted leave to file
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`REDACTED versions of Exhibits A and B to PMP’s Memorandum in Support of Motion for
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`Leave to Amend Counterclaims to Add Injunctive Relief.
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`And to file UNDER SEAL un-redacted versions of Exhibits A and B to PMP’s
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`Memorandum in Support of Motion for Leave to Amend Counterclaims to Add Injunctive
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`Relief.
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`And FURTHER ORDERED that the un-redacted versions of PMP’s Exhibits A and B
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`to PMP’s Memorandum in Support of Motion for Leave to Amend Counterclaims to Add
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`Injunctive Relief, shall remain SEALED until further order of the Court.
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`ENTERED this _____ day of _________________, 2021.
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`Alexandria, Virginia
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