JOEL SCHNEIDER, Magistrate Judge.
This matter is before the Court on the renewed "Joint Motion to Seal" [Doc. No. 215] filed by defendants. Plaintiff does not oppose the motion. The Court is in receipt of the Declaration of Yuling Lin ("Lin Decl.") [Doc. No. 246] in further support of defendants' motion. Defendants seek to seal certain portions of the June 14, 2016 Telephone Discovery Conference Transcript ("Transcript") [Doc. No. 150] and plaintiff's July 15, 2016 letter to the Court with exhibit A attached thereto [Doc. No. 132]. The Court exercises its discretion to decide the motion without oral argument.
As noted, the instant motion represents the parties' second attempt to seal the subject materials. Defendants initially filed a motion to seal certain portions of the transcript because a specific ingredient of defendants' Abbreviated New Drug Application ("ANDA") product was referenced during the conference. First Mot. ¶ 5 [Doc. No. 128-1]. Plaintiff initially filed a motion to seal certain portions of its July 15, 2016 letter because defendants designated certain information referenced in the letter as "Highly Confidential" pursuant to the Discovery Confidentiality Order ("DCO") [Doc. No. 40]. Second Mot. at 2 [Doc. No. 131-1]. On February 24, 2017, the Court denied both motions without prejudice, finding that defendants failed to "show good cause to seal because the motion[s] [are] not supported by the requisite affidavit[s] executed by a person with personal knowledge of the referenced facts."
It is well-established there exists "a common law public right of access to judicial proceedings and records."
In this District motions to seal are governed by Local Civil Rule 5.3(c) which requires the moving party to describe: (a) the nature of the materials or proceedings at issue; (b) the legitimate private or public interest which warrants the relief sought; (c) the clearly defined and serious injury that would result if the relief sought is not granted; and (d) why a less restrictive alternative to the relief sought is not available. In particular, "[b]road allegations of harm, unsubstantiated by specific examples or articulated reasoning" cannot satisfy the required showing of "clearly defined and serious injury."
The Court now turns to defendants' renewed motion. As a preliminary matter, the Court notes that defendants filed two affidavits in support of the instant motion.
First, defendants have sufficiently described the nature of the materials at issue. As to the transcript, defendants seek to redact only a portion of one line of the transcript which references a specific ingredient in defendants' ANDA product. Sholar Decl. ¶ 9; Index at 1 [Doc. No. 215-2]. As to plaintiff's July 15, 2016 letter and the attached exhibit A, defendants seek to seal certain portions which reference defendants' "ANDA product and commercially sensitive communications with the FDA concerning [defendants'] ANDA product."
Accordingly for the foregoing reasons,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED this 24th day of August 2017, that defendants' "Joint Motion to Seal" [Doc. No. 215] is GRANTED; and it is further
ORDERED that defendants shall submit to the court reporter a Statement of Redaction and Sealing pursuant to L. Civ. R. 5.3(g)(2) regarding the transcript [Doc. No. 150] by August 31, 2017; and it is further
ORDERED that upon submission of defendants' Statement of Redaction and Sealing, a redacted version of the transcript [Doc. No. 150] shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Court for filing on the public docket; and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court is directed to maintain under seal the complete unredacted transcript of the June 14, 2016 Telephone Discovery Conference [Doc. No. 150] and plaintiff's July 15, 2016 letter with the attached exhibit A [Doc. No. 132].