Opinion
Civil Action 21 Civ. 2038 (SLC)
03-01-2022
YVETTE GLUCK, individually and as administrator of the estate of Tamar Rhode Plaintiff, v. ANTHONY M. SANDELLI and NORTHSTAR CONTRACTING GROUP, INC., Defendants.
ORDER
SARAH L. CAVE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
The parties' request to seal the amount of their settlement (ECF No. 43) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. “While ‘[o]rdinarily, settlements of civil lawsuits are private arrangements between the parties . . . [and] the court normally plays no role whatever, standing indifferent to the terms the parties have agreed to, [i]n certain types of cases . . ., judicial scrutiny of a proposed settlement is required.'” ABC v. XYZ Corp., No. 18 Civ. 11653 (JGK) (JLC), 2019 WL 1292503, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 19, 2019) (quoting Geltzer v. Anderson Worldwide, S.C., No. 05 Civ. 3339 (GEL), 2007 WL 273526, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 30, 2007) (internal quotation and alteration omitted)). “In such cases, there is a ‘presumption of access' to the judicial proceedings.” Id. (quoting Geltzer, 2007 WL 273526, at *2). “Information on which a court must rely to determine the motion before it-such as the settlement amounts . . . -is given a strong presumption of public access.” Agence France Presse v. Morel, No. 10 Civ. 2730 (AJN), 2014 WL 5568562, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 3, 2014). “This presumption is ‘not easily overcome,' and [the parties] have not demonstrated a sufficient basis to justify sealing” the settlement amount. ABC, 2019 WL 1292503, at *6 (quoting Files v. Federated Payment Sys. USA, Inc., 11-CV-3437 (JS) (GRB), 2013 WL 1874602, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 2, 2013)). The parties may renew their request to seal the settlement amount upon a proper showing of the need for confidentiality.
By April 8, 2022, the parties shall file their settlement agreement for Court approval. The deadline for the completion of all discovery is HELD IN ABEYANCE pending the Court's ruling on the parties' settlement agreement.
The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to close ECF No. 43.
SO ORDERED.