Webster v. DOE

United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina · May 20, 2025 · No. 7:25-CV-00931-M

Summary

This United States District Court order grants the plaintiff's motion to file exhibits A through S to the complaint under seal. Relying on established privacy protections for compromising photographs, the court finds good cause to maintain these exhibits confidential while permitting redacted versions on the public docket. The order further instructs both parties to submit any future exhibits depicting either party under seal.

Court
United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
Writing for the Court
Richard E. Myers II
Jurisdiction
United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
Decision date
May 20, 2025
Docket number
7:25-CV-00931-M
Procedural posture
Plaintiff's motion for leave to file Exhibits A–S to the Complaint under seal
Precedential value
nonprecedential
Disposition
other

Topics

civil procedure

Practice areas

civil procedure

Questions Presented

  1. Whether the court should grant plaintiff's motion to file exhibits under seal.

Holdings

  1. The court finds good cause and grants plaintiff's motion to file Exhibits A–S under seal.

Key quotations

federal courts routinely “recognize[] that compromising photographs should be placed under seal to protect an individual’s right to privacy.”

Factual background

Plaintiff seeks to file exhibits A–S containing compromising photographs under seal to protect privacy, and requests that the clerk maintain those exhibits sealed with redacted copies on the public record.

Procedural history

The plaintiff moved in the district court for an order sealing exhibits containing compromising photographs; the court considered the motion and issued an order granting it.

Remand instructions

The Clerk of Court is directed to maintain Exhibits A–S to the Complaint under seal with redacted copies filed on the public record, and both parties must file any future exhibits depicting either party under seal.

Court Document

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