Plaintiffs Opposition
Plaintiffs Opposition
Plaintiffs Opposition
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1 TABLE OF CONTENTS
2 Page(s)
5 III. ARGUMENT..........................................................................................................4
10 B. Zuffa Will Not Suffer Competitive Harm From Disclosure of The
Documents It Asks The Court to Seal. ........................................................8
11
1. Many of The Documents Do Not Contain Commercially Sensitive
12 Information ......................................................................................8
14 3. Many of the Documents are Too Old to Contain Trade Secrets ..... 12
15 C. The Interest of The Named Plaintiffs, Class Members, The Public, And
The Press in Access to The Documents Zuffa Seeks to Seal Outweighs Any
16 Purported Confidentiality Interest May Hold in Those Documents. ......... 14
19 D. This Court’s Prior Orders to Seal do not Prevent An Order Unsealing
Documents ................................................................................................ 19
20
IV. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................20
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1 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
2 Cases Page(s)
3 Apple Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co., 727 F.3d 1214 (Fed. Cir. 2013) ............................................... 4
7 City of L.A. v. Santa Monica BayKeeper, 254 F.3d 882 (9th Cir. 2001) .................................... 19
11 eMove Inc. v. SMD Software Inc., No. CV-10-02052-PHX-JRG, 2012 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 28164 (D. Ariz. Mar. 2, 2012) ........................................................................... 7, 15
12
Hodges v. Apple Inc., No. 13-cv-01128-WHO (WHO), 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
13 164674 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 18, 2013) ...................................................................................... 2
14 Hunt v. VEP Healthcare, No. 16-cv-04790-VC, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139700
(N.D. Cal. Aug. 22, 2017) .................................................................................................. 3
15
In re NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litig., No. 09-cv-01967
16 CW (NC), 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85375 (N.D. Cal. June 17, 2013)................................. 13
21 Marsh v. First Bank of Del., No. 11-cv-05226-WHO, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
4022 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2014) ........................................................................................... 3
22
Oracle USA, Inc. v. Rimini St., Inc., No. 2:10-cv-00106-LRH-PAL, 2012 U.S.
23 Dist. LEXIS 174441 (D. Nev. Dec. 6, 2012) ....................................................................... 7
25 PrimeSource Bldg. Prods. v. Huttig Bldg. Prods., No. 16 CV 11390, 2017 U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 202748 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 9, 2017) ................................................................... 13
26
Saint Alphonsus Med. Ctr. - Nampa, Inc. v. Saint Luke’s Health Sys., No. 1:12-
27 CV-00560-BLW, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93985 (D. Idaho July 3, 2014)........................... 15
28 Shane Grp., Inc. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield, 825 F.3d 299 (6th Cir. 2016) .................................... 3
1 Rules
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12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
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23
24
25
26
27
28
2 I. INTRODUCTION
3 Plaintiffs file this brief in opposition to Zuffa LLC’s Motion to Seal Plaintiffs’
4 Opposition to Zuffa’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Related Materials (ECF No. 602)
5 (the “Motion to Seal”). As with its previous motions to seal, Zuffa has failed to provide
6 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to justify sealing the documents and
7 information Zuffa asks the Court to seal. Many of the documents simply do not contain
9 too old to be commercially sensitive. And Zuffa fails to show that its alleged interest in
10 confidentiality outweighs the presumed right of access of the named Plaintiffs, the Class
11 members, the public, and the press. This transparency interest is heightened in an antitrust
12 class action such as this, where the rights and interests of a large number of UFC fighters are
13 at stake and the alleged wrongdoing should not be concealed from public scrutiny.
15 contained in the documents it seeks to seal. These two- or three-sentence descriptions are
16 meant to cover well over 1,000 individual documents or redactions. Zuffa makes no attempt to
17 show—as it must—the nature of each document to be sealed, the basis for sealing, and how
18 Zuffa will be harmed by disclosure of each document it seeks to seal. Zuffa’s blanket
19 justifications fail to satisfy the compelling reasons standard, and amount to an improper
20 attempt by Zuffa to shift the burden of determining the nature of information to be sealed and
21 the basis for sealing onto the Court and the Plaintiffs. This alone represents a legally sufficient
23 Many of the documents Zuffa seeks to seal offer strong support for Plaintiffs’ claims,
24 or cast Zuffa in a negative light. Zuffa has failed to demonstrate how its interest in
25 confidentiality outweighs the vital interest of the named Plaintiffs, the Class members, the
26 public, and the press in assessing the claims, defenses, and evidence presented, which is
27 heightened in important antitrust class actions like this case. When antitrust violations are
28 alleged, as they are here, public disclosure is of particular importance to ensure improper
1 behavior does not escape public scrutiny, and the Federal Rules are not misused to hide illegal
2 behavior. Moreover, Zuffa continues to vie for an unfair advantage in the court of public
3 opinion by selectively asking the Court to seal information that supports Plaintiffs’ claims or
4 casts Zuffa in a negative light, while freely revealing information that it believes supports its
5 position or otherwise casts it in a positive light. Zuffa should not be able to misuse the Federal
10 judicial records attached to dispositive motions, including motions for summary judgment.
11 Kamakana v. City & Cty. Of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178-79 (9th Cir. 2006) (citation
12 omitted). “A party seeking to seal a judicial record . . . bears the burden of overcoming this
15 showing for each document it seeks to file under seal . . . .” Collectors Coffee Inc. v. Blue
16 Sunsets, LLC, No. 2:17-cv-01252-JCM-PAL, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96273, at *6, n.1 (D. Nev.
17 June 21, 2017) (“Collectors Coffee”). “An unsupported assertion of unfair advantage to
18 competitors without explaining how a competitor would use the information to obtain an
19 unfair advantage is insufficient.” Hodges v. Apple Inc., No. 13-cv-01128-WHO (WHO), 2013
20 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164674, at *4-5 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 18, 2013) (“Hodges”) (italics added)
21 (citation omitted). “The Ninth Circuit has rejected efforts to seal documents under the
22 compelling reasons standard based on conclusory statements [that] the contents of the
23 documents . . . are confidential and that, in general, their disclosure would be harmful to the
24 movant.” Bartech Int’l, Inc. v. Mobile Simple Sols., Inc., No. 2:15-cv-02422-MMD-NJK, 2016
25
26
1
Plaintiffs addressed many of these issues in their Opposition to Zuffa LLC’s Motion to Seal
27 Plaintiffs’ Reply in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify Class and Related Materials, ECF
No. 558, and in their opposition to Zuffa LLC’s Motion to Seal Zuffa LLC’s Motion for
28 Summary Judgment and Related Materials, ECF No. 581, both of which Plaintiffs hereby
incorporate into this brief as if they were fully set forth herein.
2 Case No.: 2:15-cv-01045 RFB-(PAL)
PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA, LLC’S MOTION TO SEAL PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA,
LLC’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND RELATED MATERIALS (ECF NO. 602)
Case 2:15-cv-01045-RFB-PAL Document 604 Filed 10/17/18 Page 7 of 28
1 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59852, at *3 (D. Nev. May 5, 2016) (citations omitted) (“Bartech”).
2 Moreover, “in class actions—where by definition some members of the public are also
3 parties to the case—the standards for denying public access to the record should be applied
4 with particular strictness.” Shane Grp., Inc. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield, 825 F.3d 299, 305 (6th
5 Cir. 2016) (citation omitted) (“Shane”). Accord, Marsh v. First Bank of Del., No. 11-cv-05226-
6 WHO, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4022, at *4 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2014) (“Marsh”) (“In a class
7 action, the public right of access to court documents is especially heightened.”). This is
8 especially so in antitrust cases, where “the public’s interest is focused not only on the result,
9 but also on the conduct giving rise to the case. In those cases, secrecy insulates the
11 Shane, 825 F.3d at 305 (citation omitted). “[E]ven where a party can show a compelling
12 reason why certain documents or portions thereof should be sealed, the seal itself must be
13 narrowly tailored to serve that reason. The proponent of sealing therefore must analyze in
14 detail, document by document, the propriety of secrecy, providing reasons and legal citations.”
15 Id. at 305-06 (emphasis added; citation omitted). Sealing information in a class action is
16 inappropriate when doing so would “interfere with the right of class members to make an
17 informed decision about whether to object or opt out.” Hunt v. VEP Healthcare, No. 16-cv-
18 04790-VC, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139700, at *3, n.1 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 22, 2017).
20 justify sealing court records exist when such court files might have become a vehicle for
21 improper purposes, such as the use of records to gratify private spite, promote public scandal,
22 circulate libelous statements, or release trade secrets.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (citations
23 omitted). “A trade secret may consist of any formula, pattern, device or compilation of
24 information which is used in one’s business, and which gives him an opportunity to obtain an
25 advantage over competitors who do not know or use it.” Elec. Arts, Inc. v. United States Dist.
26 Ct. (In re Elec. Arts, Inc.), 298 F. App’x 568, 569 (9th Cir. 2008) (citation omitted). Parties
28 secret . . . [when] they could suffer competitive harm if this information is made public.”
1 Apple Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co., 727 F.3d 1214, 1225 (Fed. Cir. 2013) (applying Ninth Circuit
2 law). Courts will grant a party’s motion to seal where public disclosure would “cause it
3 competitive disadvantage by permitting its competitors to exploit its trade secrets.” Bartech,
5 For the reasons discussed below, Zuffa fails to satisfy the compelling reasons standard.
6 III. ARGUMENT
9 The party seeking to prevent access to judicial records must “‘articulate compelling
10 reasons supported by specific factual findings,’ providing ‘articulable facts’ that identify the
11 interests favoring secrecy and showing how those interests outweigh the presumption of
12 public access to judicial records.” Hodges, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164674, at *2-3 (quoting
13 Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178, 1181). “In the absence of specifically articulated reasons,
14 meaningful appellate review is impossible.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1182 (citation omitted).
15 When a party merely “identifies the redactions it seeks by page number and line number,
16 [without] provid[ing] similarly specific compelling reasons to justify these redactions,” it fails
17 to satisfy the compelling reasons standard. Id. at 1183-84. “Simply mentioning a general
18 category of privilege, without any further elaboration or any specific linkage with the
19 documents, does not satisfy the burden.” Id. at 1184 (holding that a party’s attempt “to
20 justify each redaction by listing one of four general categories of privilege” was insufficient).
21 Here, Zuffa does exactly that. Zuffa asks the Court to seal well over 1,000 individual
22 redactions or exhibits based solely on four extremely broad categorical descriptions of the
23 types of information Zuffa seeks to seal, contained in two tables. Table A refers to “Exhibits
24 Zuffa Seeks to File under Seal,” and contains four sub-categories. Each sub-category includes
25 a cursory one- or two-sentence description of the purported grounds for sealing, to be applied
26 to tens or even hundreds of individual redactions or requests to seal within that category.
27 Beyond this brief overarching description, there is no further information about the nature
28 (e.g., contract, email, financial report, etc.) or content (e.g., contract negotiation, notice of
1 injury extension, internal assessment of rival promoter’s fighters, etc.) of each document
2 Zuffa seeks to seal. The categories include documents or portions thereof purportedly
6 or sealed documents);
9 sealed documents);
12 documents); and,
16 information contained therein is confidential, and it fails to show how it would be harmed by
17 disclosure of the information. Zuffa’s overbroad, non-specific categorizations fail to satisfy the
19 Table B, which refers to “Expert Reports Zuffa Seeks to File under Seal,” contains
20 only generalized references to the four sub-categories listed in Table A. For example, Zuffa’s
21 purported justification for sealing extensive portions of the Expert Report of Hal J. Singer,
22
23 2
Plaintiffs do not oppose sealing documents provided by third party MMA promoters or
24 boxing promoters where those third parties have designated the materials in question as
Confidential or Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only. However, Plaintiffs do oppose
25 sealing documents produced by third party financial institutions or other third parties that
were retained by Zuffa for business purposes. Plaintiffs also do not oppose redacting fighter
26 names and Personally Identifying Information, or references to fighters’ medical conditions or
injuries. But the burden is on Zuffa to narrowly tailor its redactions to cover only these items.
27 Overbroad redactions that sweep up non-commercially sensitive statements and information,
particularly when those statements support Plaintiffs claims or cast a negative light on Zuffa’s
28 actions, are not narrowly tailored and do not satisfy the compelling reasons standard.
1 Ph.D. states:
6 Motion to Seal, p. 7. The Singer Report contains 364 individual redactions, covering a very
7 wide range of references.3 Zuffa applies this cursory justification to Dr. Singer’s opening
8 report in its entirety, and provides similarly deficient descriptions of the other eight expert
9 reports it asks the Court to redact. These perfunctory justifications fail to satisfy the
11 Zuffa has not even attempted to make a particularized showing with respect to each
12 document it asks the Court to seal or redact. It simply provides the Court with a laundry list
14 what information is revealed in each document and how its disclosure would cause
15 competitive harm to Zuffa, Zuffa impermissibly attempts to shift the burden to Plaintiffs—
16 and the Court—to identify what commercially sensitive information (if any) would be
17 revealed and how it could cause competitive harm to Zuffa. The burden is on Zuffa to show
18 that each document contains trade secret information. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. For
19 this independently sufficient reason, Zuffa fails to meet the compelling reasons standard.
20 Courts in the Ninth Circuit routinely deny motions to seal on this basis. For example,
21 in In re NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litig., No. C 09-1967 CW, 2014 U.S.
22 Dist. LEXIS 22233, at *20 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 20, 2014) (“NCAA”), the court denied a motion
23 to seal an expert report because the report contained only “non-specific descriptions of
25 analyses, and vague estimates of some schools’ football- and basketball-related revenue from
26 certain years.” The court held that “[n]either Defendants nor the third parties have
27
3
28 See generally, Opposition Exhibit 1.
1 adequately explained how they would be harmed by the disclosure of this information.”4
16
4
17 See also eMove Inc. v. SMD Software Inc., No. CV-10-02052-PHX-JRG, 2012 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 28164 (D. Ariz. Mar. 2, 2012), in which the court denied a motion to seal an expert
18 report in its entirety, even though the report contained “profit and loss information [that] is
sensitive and may constitute trade secrets.” Id. at *8. The court held that the moving party
19 did not “adequately explain how this information provides it with a competitive advantage.”
In addition, the court held that “the expert report is central to the cause of action because it
20 purports to calculate the damages incurred by [the plaintiff ] as a result of the defendants’
allegedly unlawful acts [so] the need for public access is at its peak.” Id.
21 Stipulated protective orders such as the one issued in this case, which “allow[] part[ies] or
5
non-part[ies] producing or disclosing documents to designate discovery materials as
22 confidential or highly confidential without court intervention,” are “routine in federal
discovery practice and facilitate the parties’ exchanges without expensive and time consuming
23 motion practice.” Oracle USA, Inc. v. Rimini St., Inc., No. 2:10-cv-00106-LRH-PAL, 2012
U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174441, at *27-30 (D. Nev. Dec. 6, 2012).
24 6
See Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to Lodge Materials Under Seal, ECF No. 598, p. 1 (“The
25 documents referenced below (or portions thereof ) have been designated or refer to materials
which have been designated Confidential or Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only by
26 Defendant or third parties. Plaintiffs take no position at this time regarding whether these
designations are merited and—pursuant to Section 6.1 of the Protective Order—reserve the
27 right to challenge Zuffa’s or third parties’ confidentiality designations at any time.
Accordingly, and solely on the basis of Zuffa’s and third parties’ confidentiality designations,
28 Plaintiffs seek leave to lodge the following documents under seal.”).
1 are subject to the more stringent “compelling reasons” standard. Yet Zuffa has done almost
2 nothing to narrow the requests to seal, essentially just passing them along to the Court with
4 Zuffa has failed to carry its burden under the compelling reasons standard. “Unlike
5 private materials unearthed during discovery, judicial records are public documents almost by
6 definition, and the public is entitled to access by default. This fact sharply tips the balance in
7 favor of production when a document, formerly sealed for good cause under Rule 26(c),
8 becomes part of a judicial record.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180 (citation omitted).
12 Many of the materials Zuffa asks the Court to seal simply do not contain confidential
13 information. For example, Zuffa asks the Court to seal Exhibit 67 to the Declaration of Eric L.
14 Cramer in Support of Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Zuffa, LLC’s Motion for Summary Judgment,
15 (ECF No. 596-69),8 which contains excerpts from a draft of a “confidential information
16 memorandum” produced for Strikeforce on or around March 15, 2010 (Strikeforce was
17 acquired by Zuffa approximately one year later, in early 2011). Zuffa asks the Court to seal this
19 information and highly sensitive internal strategy information,” but the only strategy
20 described is Strikeforce’s strategy to strengthen its position as “the world’s second most
21 prominent promotion.” Strikeforce was acquired by Zuffa in 2011 and ceased to exist in 2013.
23
24 7
While Zuffa did reduce or remove the redactions on 25 documents it filed with its Motion to
Seal, it offers nothing more than the insufficient blanket justifications described above for the
25 redactions in those documents. Because Zuffa has failed to provide compelling reasons for
sealing the redactions in those 25 documents (other than those relating to Personally
26 Identifiable Information), the redactions should be removed. See Exhibit 1 to Declaration of
Kevin E. Rayhill, pp. 61-62, for descriptions of these redactions and the reasons they should
27 be denied.
8
28 For simplicity, Plaintiffs will use the shorthand “Opposition Exhibit XX” or “Opp. Exh.” to
refer to exhibits filed with their Opposition.
8 Case No.: 2:15-cv-01045 RFB-(PAL)
PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA, LLC’S MOTION TO SEAL PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA,
LLC’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND RELATED MATERIALS (ECF NO. 602)
Case 2:15-cv-01045-RFB-PAL Document 604 Filed 10/17/18 Page 13 of 28
Case 2:15-cv-01045-RFB-PAL Document 604 Filed 10/17/18 Page 14 of 28
1 contain commercially sensitive information. For example, Zuffa asks the Court to seal
2 paragraph 36 of the Rebuttal Expert Report of Hal J. Singer, Ph.D. (“SR2”), which describes
3 the multivariate regression models contained in SR1. None of Zuffa’s contractual terms,
5 follows:
8 Nothing in
9 this conclusion would confer a competitive advantage on another MMA promoter if it were
10 disclosed.
14 Against.”
16 By definition, information that is available from public sources is not confidential. Yet
17 Zuffa repeatedly asks this Court to seal information that is already in the public domain. For
18 example, it is public knowledge that all UFC fighters must sign a Promotional and Ancillary
19 Rights Agreement (“PAR”).9 Indeed, Zuffa has stated so in its Fighter Conduct
20 Policy, which is publicly available on their website.10 Yet Zuffa asks the Court to seal several
21
9
See Rayhill Decl., Exh. 2, Adam Swift, “Inside the Standard Zuffa Contract,” Sherdog.com,
22 Oct. 31, 2007, available at http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Inside-the-Standard-
Zuffa-Contract-9734 (includes complete listing of all contract terms in a PAR, “the contract
23 every fighter has to sign to gain entry to the UFC”, including the Retirement Clause, the
Champion’s Clause, tolling provisions, the right to match period, and the exclusive
24 negotiating period, among other contract provisions). See also Rayhill Decl., Exh. 3. Jonathan
Snowden, “The Business of Fighting: A Look Inside the UFC’s Top-Secret Fighter
25 Contract,” Bleacher Report, May 14, 2013, available at
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1516575-the-business-of-fighting-a-look-inside-the-ufcs-
26 top-secret-fighter-contract#slide8. See n.4, supra (including a complete listing of all contract
terms in a PAR, “the contract every fighter has to sign to gain entry to the UFC”).
27 10
See, e.g., Rayhill, Decl., Exh. 10, “UFC Fighter Conduct Policy,”ufc.com, available at
28 http://media.ufc.tv/conduct/UFC_Fighter_Code_of_Conduct.pdf (“As provided in the
1 to Bellator and we signed it” in an effort to match an offer from UFC for a Bellator fighter.13
2 These statements are further proof that Zuffa’s contract terms are public knowledge: other
3 MMA promoters clearly knew about them, and copied them in their own contracts. Zuffa’s
4 contract terms are public knowledge, and since other MMA promoters already freely admit
5 that they base their own contracts on Zuffa’s contractual terms, Zuffa would not be harmed by
7 Zuffa seeks to seal Opposition Exhibits 100 & 101, both of which contain excerpts
9 Zuffa’s active participation, and Opposition Exhibit 96, which contains excerpts from a 2013
11 reporter John Nash has written extensively about data he gleaned from copies of these
12 memoranda.14 And in a recent article about Plaintiffs’ Opposition filing, Mr. Nash noted that
13 the 2007 Memorandum “is available to several members of the media, including myself.”15
14 Mr. Nash also noted that many of the redactions in Plaintiffs’ Opposition filings “fail because
19 Zuffa asks the Court to seal many documents that contain information that is too old
20
21
13
22 See, Rayhill Decl., Exh. 4, Brian Hemminger, “Bjorn Rebney Explains 'Key
Misunderstanding' in UFC Contract Match for Eddie Alvarez,” mmamania.com, Jan. 9,
23 2013, available at https://www.mmamania.com/2013/1/9/3853442/bjorn-rebney-lawsuit-
eddie-alvarez-bellator-mma-ufc-contract-match.
24 14 See, Rayhill Decl., Exh. 5, John S. Nash, “What Investors Are Being Told About UFC
Revenues,” BloodyElbow.com, Oct. 20, 2015, available at
25 https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/10/20/9547333/what-deutsche-bank-moodys-and-
standard-poors-tell-us-about-the-ufc.
26 15
John S. Nash, Lawsuit: Plaintiffs claim UFC became ‘major leagues’ of MMA through
27 ‘restrictive contracts’ and ‘buying out rivals’, BloodyElbow.com, Sept. 26, 2018, available for
download at https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2018/9/26/17897070/lawsuit-plaintiffs-claim-
28 ufc-became-major-leagues-restrictive-contracts-buying-out-rivals-mma-zuffa.
1 to qualify as commercially sensitive information.16 For example, Zuffa asks the Court to seal
2 Opposition Exhibit 91, which is a January 3, 2011 email from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to
3 Dana White and other Zuffa executives containing a list of post-fight bonuses and a list of
6 career lasts less than three years, this information from 2011 is far too old to hold any
7 competitive value.
8 There are also a series of memoranda prepared by Deutsche Bank in 2007, 2009, and
9 2013 (Opp. Exhs. 100, 86, and 96, respectively), as well as other Deutsche Bank presentations
10 and other documents from the same time frame (Opp. Exh. 99 is a Deutsche Bank lender’s
11 presentation from May 23, 2007), that are too old to contain any commercially sensitive
12 information.
13 Similarly, Opposition Exhibit 76 is an August 2, 2013 email from Tracy Long to Joe
14 Silva regarding
15
16
17
18
19
16
20 See Kenny v. Pac. Inv. Mgmt. Co. LLC, No. C14-1987 RSM, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112788,
at *8-9 (W.D. Wash. July 6, 2018) (denying motion to seal agreements and negotiations
21 between defendant and clients, and client fees, as well as “more granular proprietary
information, such as profitability figures,” because the documents were “relevant to [the]
22 case” and because the information was 4-5 years old and therefore “stale and no longer likely
to offer a competitive advantage to [defendant’s] competitors”); Cen Com, Inc. v. Numerex
23 Corp., No. C17-0560RSM, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18698, at *4 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 5, 2018)
(denying without prejudice motion to seal where defendants had failed to show that 18-
24 months old information was “not so stale as to no longer be commercially useful or
harmful”); In re NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litig., No. 09-cv-01967
25 CW (NC), 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85375, at *12 (N.D. Cal. June 17, 2013) (denying motion to
seal where document was eight years old, and the defendant “fail[ed] to articulate what
26 specific harm an outdated document will have on its current or future operations”);
PrimeSource Bldg. Prods. v. Huttig Bldg. Prods., No. 16 CV 11390, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
27 202748, at *47 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 9, 2017) (holding that two-year-old vendor pricing information
was not a trade secret because pricing had changed in the interim: “Information that is too old
28 to hold any value loses any protection it would otherwise be entitled to as a trade secret”).
1 .17 UFC 166 was held on October 19, 2013, and has fought in eight UFC
2 bouts since then. The information in this email has been obsolete for several years.
3 Opposition Exhibit 123 is a January 27, 2008 email from a fighter agent to Joe Silva.
10 There are many more examples of documents Zuffa would withhold from public
11 disclosure that do not contain trade secrets. See Rayhill Decl., Exh. 1. None of the documents
12 Zuffa asks the Court to seal contains trade secrets. The documents either lack information
14 information that is already public knowledge, or that is too old to hold any competitive value.
16 C. The Interest of The Named Plaintiffs, Class Members, The Public, And
The Press in Access to The Documents Zuffa Seeks to Seal Outweighs
17 Any Purported Confidentiality Interest Zuffa May Hold in Those
Documents
18
A party seeking to seal judicial records filed with a dispositive motion must “present
19
articulable facts identifying the interests favoring continued secrecy and [] show that these
20
21
17
Zuffa’s fighter compensation is public knowledge. Purse information for nearly half of
22 Zuffa’s MMA events since 2001 (182 of 420 total events) is available online from a number of
websites, including Wikipedia and Bloody Elbow. See, e.g., Rayhill Decl., ¶ 13. Moreover,
23 Zuffa has announced fighter purse information when it suited its purposes to do so. See, e.g.,
Rayhill Decl., Exh. 6, Adam Guillen Jr. , “Dana White: Rampage Jackson Has Made $15.2
24 million in Career Earnings Fighting for UFC,” January 24, 2013, mmamania.com, available at
https://www.mmamania.com/2013/1/24/3913294/dana-white-rampage-jackson-career-
25 earnings-ufc-millions (Dana White says UFC fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, “since
2007, has made, from 2007 to 2012, $15.2 million in the UFC”); Rayhill Decl., Exh 7, Ken
26 Pishna and Jeff Cain, “UFC Disputes Couture’s Claims About His Pay,” MMA Weekly.
October 30, 2007, available at https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-disputes-coutures-claims-
27 about-his-pay-2 (“the UFC indicated that Couture’s pay for the Sylvia fight totaled $1.186
million and $1.072 million for the Gonzaga fight”). Finally, should the Court find that fighter
28 compensation should be sealed, Zuffa has not shown why it could not limit its redactions to
the compensation numbers themselves.
14 Case No.: 2:15-cv-01045 RFB-(PAL)
PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA, LLC’S MOTION TO SEAL PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA,
LLC’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND RELATED MATERIALS (ECF NO. 602)
Case 2:15-cv-01045-RFB-PAL Document 604 Filed 10/17/18 Page 19 of 28
1 specific interests overc[o]me the presumption of access by outweighing the public interest in
2 understanding the judicial process.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1181 (citations omitted). Courts
3 in the Ninth Circuit routinely deny requests to seal when the moving party fails to show that
4 the interest in sealing outweighs the interest of the named Plaintiffs, Class members, the
5 public, and the press in access. For example, the court in Saint Alphonsus Med. Ctr. - Nampa,
6 Inc. v. Saint Luke’s Health Sys., No. 1:12-CV-00560-BLW, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93985 (D.
7 Idaho July 3, 2014), denied a motion to seal expert testimony despite finding that the
8 testimony “reveals actual financial data such as revenue and overhead” and contains
9 “sensitive business information that could be damaging if revealed.” Id. at *13. The court
10 held that because the expert testimony was “crucial to the public’s understanding” of the
11 defendant’s argument, there were no compelling reasons to seal the expert testimony. Id.
12 Similarly, in eMove, the court denied a motion to seal an expert report in its entirety, even
13 though the report contained “profit and loss information [that] is sensitive and may constitute
14 trade secrets.” 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28164, at *8. The court held that the moving party did
15 not “adequately explain how this information provides it with a competitive advantage.” In
16 addition, the court held that “the expert report is central to the cause of action because it
17 purports to calculate the damages incurred by [the plaintiff ] as a result of the defendants’
18 allegedly unlawful acts [so] the need for public access is at its peak.” Id.
19 Here, Zuffa has made no attempt to show that its purported interest in sealing the
20 documents outweighs the interest of the named Plaintiffs, the Class members, the public, and
24 “In a class action, the public right of access to court documents is especially
25 heightened.” Marsh, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4022, at *4. Public access is of even greater
26 importance in antitrust actions, where “the public’s interest is focused not only on the result,
27 but also on the conduct giving rise to the case. In those cases, secrecy insulates the
1 Shane, 825 F.3d at 305 (citation omitted). Here, both conditions apply. Zuffa has not shown
3 Many of the documents Zuffa asks this Court to seal support Plaintiffs’ claims in this
4 litigation, and expose not just Zuffa’s anticompetitive actions, but the intent behind those
5 actions. For example, Opposition Exhibit 83 is a January 31, 2007 email from Zuffa’s outside
6 counsel Thomas Paschall to Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and other Zuffa executives,18 in
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12 Similarly, Opposition Exhibit 62 (discussed supra at section III.B.1, p. 9), a July 25,
13 2009 email from Michael Mersch regarding Affliction Entertainment’s agreement to cease
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17 These documents directly support one of Plaintiffs’ primary points: that Zuffa
18 unlawfully acquired and maintained monopoly and monopsony power in part by buying its
19 closest potential competitors, thereby removing potential rivals from the market and
20 enhancing its own position by absorbing the other promoter’s fighters into the UFC. Zuffa has
21 not shown and cannot show a valid legal basis for sealing this document. Rather, Zuffa is
22 asking the Court to seal these documents because they strongly support Plaintiffs’ claims and
23 cast Zuffa in a negative light. The interest of the named Plaintiffs, the Class members, the
24 public, and the press in disclosure far outweighs any purported interest in confidentiality held
25 by Zuffa.
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28 Portions of this email were ordered redacted by Magistrate Leen on attorney-client privilege
grounds. The rest of the document, including the portion cited here, were held not privileged.
16 Case No.: 2:15-cv-01045 RFB-(PAL)
PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA, LLC’S MOTION TO SEAL PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA,
LLC’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND RELATED MATERIALS (ECF NO. 602)
Case 2:15-cv-01045-RFB-PAL Document 604 Filed 10/17/18 Page 21 of 28
Case 2:15-cv-01045-RFB-PAL Document 604 Filed 10/17/18 Page 22 of 28
2 19
But Opposition Exhibit 133 shows that Zuffa used the
3
9 These documents and others like them support Plaintiffs’ point that Zuffa’s
10 contractual terms serve to lock top MMA fighters into long-term exclusive contracts that
11 prevent the fighters from seeking their true value on the open market and prevent other
13 Naturally, these are documents that Zuffa would prefer to keep hidden behind the
14 cloak of confidentiality. But Zuffa has provided no justification for sealing the documents.
15 And “[t]he mere fact that the production of records may lead to a litigant’s embarrassment,
16 incrimination, or exposure to further litigation will not, without more, compel the court to
17 seal its records.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (citation omitted). Conversely, the interest of
18 the named Plaintiffs, Class members, the public, and the press in assessing whether Zuffa
19 has—as Plaintiffs allege—used anticompetitive means to, among other things, lock its fighters
20 into long-term exclusive contracts that prevent other MMA promoters from effectively
21 competing for the fighters’ services, is particularly strong in an antitrust class action such as
22 this. Zuffa should not be allowed to control the Plaintiffs’ and the public’s access to these
23 important documents based on its desire to conceal negative evidence, especially when it has
24 failed to articulate compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings for doing so.
25 These documents and many others cast a bright light on Zuffa’s anticompetitive
26 actions. Given the heightened interest of the named Plaintiffs, the Class members, the public,
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19
See n.9, supra.
18 Case No.: 2:15-cv-01045 RFB-(PAL)
PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA, LLC’S MOTION TO SEAL PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO ZUFFA,
LLC’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND RELATED MATERIALS (ECF NO. 602)
Case 2:15-cv-01045-RFB-PAL Document 604 Filed 10/17/18 Page 23 of 28
1 and the press in access to these materials, and Zuffa’s failure to demonstrate that they have a
2 confidentiality interest that outweighs the presumption of public access, Zuffa’s Motion to
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1 IV. CONCLUSION
2 For the reasons stated above, this Court should deny Zuffa’s Motion to Seal, with the
3 exception of testimony or documents from third parties which Plaintiffs do not challenge.
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10 BERGER MONTAGUE PC
Eric L. Cramer (admitted pro hac vice)
11 Michael Dell’Angelo (admitted pro hac vice)
Patrick Madden (admitted pro hac vice)
12 Mark R. Suter (admitted pro hac vice)
1818 Market Street, Suite 3600
13 Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: (215) 875-3000/Fax: (215) 875-4604
14 [email protected]
[email protected]
15 [email protected]
[email protected]
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Co-Lead Counsel for the Classes and Attorneys
17 for Individual and Representative Plaintiffs
Cung Le, Nathan Quarry, Jon Fitch, Luis
18 Javier Vazquez, Brandon Vera, and Kyle
Kingsbury
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1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
2 I hereby certify that on this 17th day of October, 2018, true and correct copies of the
3 following document was served via the District of Nevada’s ECF system to all counsel of
10 By:
/s/ Kevin E. Rayhill
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