Brownson PLLC is pleased to announce that attorneys Kristi Brownson and Olivia Cooper, together with co-counsel from Mintz Levin of Boston, Massachusetts, have obtained a favorable ruling on sealing sensitive documents disclosed in discovery. Under new Local Rule 5.6 of the Rules for the United States District Court, District of Minnesota, Kristi and Olivia successfully convinced United States Magistrate Judge Leo Brisbois that sensitive documents discovered in an insurance coverage case involving alleged priest abuse should remain sealed in the Court file. In his Order dated October 15, 2018, Magistrate Judge Brisbois noted that Local Rule 5.6(c)(2) governs continued sealing of documents filed with the Court under seal and requires a high burden on proponents of such continued sealing. He further noted that this was one of the first Minnesota decisions to consider the issue.
Despite the burden required under a “weighing of competing interests” (privacy versus the public’s right to know), Magistrate Judge Brisbois found that Brownson PLLC client Liberty Mutual Group had met that burden and will be allowed to maintain sealed documents in the case.