Taylor Smart and Michael Hacker v. National Collegiate Athletic Association

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California grants plaintiffs’ request to seal the settlement agreement’s threshold percentage of opt-outs that would trigger its termination clause. The court finds compelling reasons to seal the information because disclosure could invite abuse by professional objectors, and orders defendants to file the unredacted settlement agreement under seal within five days.

Holdings

1. Plaintiffs established compelling reasons to seal the settlement agreement's opt-out termination threshold because the number was likely not important to individual class members' decisions whether to remain in or opt out of the class, while public disclosure created a potential for abuse by professional objectors.

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiffs demonstrated compelling reasons sufficient to overcome the strong presumption of public access to judicial records and justify sealing the settlement agreement's opt-out termination threshold.

Disposition

other