Refuerzo v. Southwest Airlines Co.

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United States
 District Court
Northern District of California
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
RORESTE REFUERZO, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.,
Defendant.
Case No. 22-cv-00868-JSC
ORDER RE: DEFENDANT’S
ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO
SEAL
Re: Dkt. Nos. 175, 188
Pending before the Court are Defendant Southwest Airlines Co.’s unopposed
administrative motions to seal. (Dkt. Nos. 175, 188.) Defendant moves to seal the entirety of an
exhibit containing a class member’s settlement agreement and portions of exhibits containing class
members’ depositions and discovery responses. For the reasons set forth below, the Court
GRANTS Defendant’s motions.
There is a right of public access to judicial records and documents. See Nixon v. Warner
Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978). In considering motions to seal, “a strong presumption
in favor of access is the starting point.” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172,
1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (cleaned up). So, parties seeking to seal judicial records relating to motions
that are “more than tangentially related to the underlying cause of action,” Ctr. for Auto Safety v.
Chrysler Grp., 809 F.3d 1092, 1099 (9th Cir. 2016), bear the burden of overcoming the
presumption of access with “compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings ... that
outweigh the general history of access and the public policies favoring disclosure.” Kamakana,
447 F.3d at 1178–79 (cleaned up).
Additionally, sealing is governed by this District’s Civil Local Rule 79-5, under which
sealing is only permitted when the parties have established “the applicable legal standard and the
reasons for keeping a document under seal, including an explanation of: (i) the legitimate private
Case 3:22-cv-00868-JSC Document 215 Filed 07/07/26 Page 1 of 5

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United States District Court
Northern District of California
or public interests that warrant sealing; (ii) the injury that will result if sealing is denied; and (iii)
why a less restrictive alternative to sealing is not sufficient.” See N.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. 79-
5(c)(1). Civil Local Rule 79-5 also requires the parties to “narrowly tailor[ ]” their requests only
to the sealable material. Id. L.R. 79-5(c)(3).
Docket Entry Proposed Information to
Seal and Reasons for Sealing
Ruling on Motion
Dkt. No. 175-5 (Confidential
settlement agreement)
Defendant seeks to seal the
entirety of the agreement. One
of the agreement’s terms is
that the agreement remain
confidential. See United
Rentals, Inc. v. Ahern Rentals,
Inc., 2012 WL 5418355, at *1
(D. Nev. Nov. 2, 2012).
The Court GRANTS the
request.
Dkt. No. 188-3 at 16:25-
17:13, 22:25-23:3, 23:11-12,
23:22-24:23 (Class member
Pamela Unger’s deposition
transcript)
Defendant seeks to seal
portions of the deposition
transcript where Ms. Unger
discusses her health
conditions and treatments for
those conditions. See Abbey v.
Hawaii Emps. Mut. Ins. Co.
(HEMIC), 760 F. Supp. 2d
1005, 1013 (D. Haw. 2010),
on reconsideration in part
(Feb. 7, 2011) (“The need to
protect medical privacy
qualifies as a ‘compelling
The Court GRANTS the
request.
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United States District Court
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reason’ that overcomes the
presumption of public access
to judicial records.”).
Dkt. No. 188-5 at 8:11-12,
12:13-13:19 (Class member
Michele Gourdine’s
deposition transcript)
Defendant seeks to seal
portions of the deposition
transcript where Ms. Gourdine
discusses a health condition
and details about
communications with her
treatment providers. See
Abbey, 760 F. Supp. 2d at
1013.
The Court GRANTS the
request.
Dkt. No. 188-7 at 19:4-20:16,
21:2-24, 22:2-23, 23:5-18,
24:3-16 (Class member Renee
Pearman’s deposition
transcript)
Defendant seeks to seal
portions of the deposition
transcript where Ms. Pearman
discusses medical conditions
and details about
communications with her
treatment providers. See
Abbey, 760 F. Supp. 2d at
1013.
The Court GRANTS the
request.
Dkt. No. 188-9 at 13:22-
14:25, 21:2-23:6, 23:19-24:2
(Class member Victoria Paige
Mack’s deposition transcript)
Defendant seeks to seal
portions of the deposition
transcript where Ms. Mack
discusses sensitive personal
issues, health conditions, and
details about communications
with her treatment providers.
The Court GRANTS the
request.
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United States District Court
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See Abbey, 760 F. Supp. 2d at
1013.
Dkt. No. 188-11 at 7:14-8:19,
9:1-10:25 (Class member
Cherish Sakovich’s deposition
transcript)
Defendant seeks to seal
portions of the deposition
transcript where Ms. Sakovich
identifies medical providers
and details about treatment
she received. See Abbey, 760
F. Supp. 2d at 1013.
The Court GRANTS the
request.
Dkt. No. 188-13 at 8, 11
(Portions of Plaintiffs’ fifth
supplemental responses to
Defendant’s special
interrogatories, set two)
Defendant moves to seal
portions of Plaintiff’s
discovery responses which
identify two class members’
medical conditions. See
Abbey, 760 F. Supp. 2d at
1013.
The Court GRANTS the
request.
Dkt. No. 188-15 at 5-10
(Portions of Plaintiffs’ third
supplemental responses to
Defendant’s special
interrogatories, set three)
Defendant moves to seal
portions of Plaintiff’s
discovery responses which
detail class members’ health
conditions, medical treatment,
and physicians’ contact
information. See Abbey, 760
F. Supp. 2d at 1013.
The Court GRANTS the
request.
CONCLUSION
Defendant’s administrative motions to seal are GRANTED. Defendant has met its burden
of showing there are compelling reasons that overcome the presumption of public access to these
records.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
This order disposes of Dkt. Nos. 175, 188.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: July 7, 2026
JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States District Judge
Case 3:22-cv-00868-JSC Document 215 Filed 07/07/26 Page 5 of 5