RiskOn International, Inc. f/k/a BitNile Metaverse, Inc. and/or Ecoark Holdings, Inc., Ecoark, Inc., and Hyperscale Data, Inc. v. Zest Labs Holdings, LLC, and Gary Metzger

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Nevada denies without prejudice the parties’ motions to seal documents and information filed in connection with a motion to dismiss and motions concerning preliminary injunctive relief. Applying the compelling-reasons standard for sealing judicial records, the court holds that the existence of confidentiality provisions, without more, does not justify sealing. The court keeps the currently sealed materials under seal temporarily and permits the parties to file a stipulation or renewed motions identifying specific portions and compelling reasons for sealing by January 14, 2026.

Holdings

1. The compelling-reasons standard applies to documents filed in connection with the defendants' motion to dismiss and the parties' preliminary-injunction briefing because a motion to dismiss is related to the merits and a preliminary-injunction motion is at least tangentially related to the merits.
2. The mere fact that a settlement agreement contains a confidentiality provision, without additional justification, is not a compelling reason to seal judicial records.
3. The defendants' and plaintiffs' motions to seal are denied without prejudice, while the currently sealed documents remain sealed temporarily pending a stipulation or renewed motion identifying specific material and compelling reasons for sealing.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the parties established compelling reasons sufficient to overcome the strong presumption of public access to judicial records associated with a motion to dismiss and motions for preliminary injunctive relief.
2. Whether the mere existence of a confidentiality provision in a settlement agreement justified sealing the documents and information at issue.
3. Whether the documents should remain temporarily sealed while the parties were given an opportunity to identify specific redactions and provide a legally sufficient justification for sealing.

Disposition

other