Naqibullah Nadeem Mohammadullah Khan v. United States of America

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California partially granted the plaintiff’s renewed motion to seal. The court ordered Exhibit A filed under seal but denied sealing the complaint because the plaintiff did not show a substantial probability of specific harm, while directing that the previously filed unredacted complaint be sealed because a partially redacted version had been filed.

Holdings

1. Exhibit A should be filed under seal because it was at most tangentially related to the merits and good cause supported sealing it.
2. The renewed request to seal the complaint was denied because plaintiff did not make a particularized showing of specific prejudice or harm or establish a substantial probability that a compelling interest would be harmed if the complaint remained unsealed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Exhibit A, which was at most tangentially related to the merits of the case, should be filed under seal upon a showing of good cause.
2. Whether plaintiff established compelling reasons to seal the complaint based on concerns about retaliation, threatened violence, and loss of property.

Disposition

other