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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 REYNOLDS’S MOTION TO SEAL
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`This matter is before the Court on the motion filed by RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc. and
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`R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company (collectively, “Reynolds”) to file under seal Reynolds’s
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`Memorandum in Support of Motion in Limine No. 10 pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
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`5.2(d) and Local Civil Rule 5(C).
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`Before this Court may seal documents, it must: “(1) provide public notice of the request to
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`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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`of Reynolds’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. Reynolds’s sealing motion was publicly docketed in accordance with Local
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`1
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`Case 1:20-cv-00393-LO-TCB Document 861-1 Filed 01/21/22 Page 2 of 3 PageID# 23123
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`Civil Rule 5. PM/Altria has had an opportunity to respond. The “public has had ample opportunity
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`to object” to Reynolds’s motion and, because “the Court has received no objections,” the first
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`requirement under Ashcraft, 218 F.3d at 302, has been satisfied. GTSI Corp. v. Wildflower Int’l,
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`Inc., No. 1:09-cv-123-JCC, 2009 WL 1248114, at *9 (E.D. Va. Apr. 30, 2009); U.S. ex rel. Carter
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`v. Halliburton Co., No. 1:10-cv-864-JCC/TCB, 2011 WL 2077799, at *3 (E.D. Va. May 24, 2011)
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`(“[T]he parties provided public notice of the request to seal that allowed interested parties a
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`reasonable opportunity to object—nearly two weeks.”).
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`2.
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`Reynolds seeks to seal and redact from the public record only information
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`designated by the parties as confidential. Reynolds has filed publicly a redacted version of
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`Reynolds’s Memorandum in Support of Motion in Limine No. 10 in addition to a sealed version,
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`and have redacted only those limited portions it seeks to seal. This selective and narrow protection
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`of 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, rather
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`than seal the entirety of his declaration, constitutes the least drastic method of shielding the
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`information at issue.”). The public has no legitimate interest in information that is confidential to
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`Reynolds or PM/Altria. The information that Reynolds seeks to seal includes confidential,
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`proprietary, and competitively sensitive business information of PM/Altria, which could face harm
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`if such information were to be released publicly. Specifically, the sensitive information that
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`Reynolds moves for leave to file under seal and to redact from the public version relates to and
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`discusses confidential information of PM/Altria relating to a settlement agreement and statements
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`from its damages expert.
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`Case 1:20-cv-00393-LO-TCB Document 861-1 Filed 01/21/22 Page 3 of 3 PageID# 23124
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`3.
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`There is support for filing Reynolds’s Memorandum in Support of Motion in
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`Limine No. 10 under seal. Reynolds’s Memorandum in Support of Motion in Limine No. 10
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`contains material that falls within the scope of the stipulated protective order. Placing these
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`materials under seal is proper because the public’s interest in access is outweighed by a party’s
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`interest in “preserving confidentiality” of the limited amount of confidential information that is
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`“normally unavailable to the public.” Flexible Benefits Council v. Feltman, No. 1:08-cv-00371-
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`JCC, 2008 WL 4924711, at *1 (E.D. Va. Nov. 13, 2008); U.S. ex rel. Carter, 2011 WL 2077799,
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`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 Reynolds is granted leave to file a
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`REDACTED version of Reynolds’s Memorandum in Support of Motion in Limine No. 10.
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`And to file UNDER SEAL an un-redacted version of Reynolds’s Memorandum in Support
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`of Motion in Limine No. 10.
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`And FURTHER ORDERED that the un-redacted version of Reynolds’s Memorandum in
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`Support of Motion in Limine No. 10 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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`THERESA CARROLL BUCHANAN
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`UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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