Doe v Szul Jewelry, Inc.
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Doe v Szul Jewelry, Inc. 2011 NY Slip Op 32195(U) August 4, 2011 Sup Ct, NY County Docket Number: 604277/2007 Judge: Shirley Werner Kornreich Republished from New York State Unified Court System's E-Courts Service. Search E-Courts (http://www.nycourts.gov/ecourts) for any additional information on this case. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. [* 1] SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY ----_ -- I Index Number 60427712007 INDEX NO. DOE, JAN E MOTION DATE VS MOTION 8EQ. NO. SZUL JEWELRY, INC. SEQUENCE NUMBER. 004 SEAL ORDER Upon the foregolng papem, It Is ordered that thlo rnotlon lo MOTION I DECIDED IN ACCORDANM S WITH ACCOMPANWNG MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER. I. CHECK ONE: ..................................................................... 2. CHECK AS APPROPRIATE: ............. .MOTION IS: 3. CHECK IF APPROPRIATE: ................................................ 0 CASE DISPOSED DENIED $r GRANTED SElTLE ORDER DO NOT POST NON-FINAL DlSPOSlTlOh CI GRANTED IN PART OTHER 0SUBMIT ORDER 0FIDUCIARY APPOINTMENT 0REFERENCI [* 2] Plaintiff, -against- DECISION and ORDER SZUL JEWELRY, INC. and Q2 ENTERTAINMENT, IJpon the foregoing papers, plaintiffs motion for an order sealing the entire court file in this action is granted, on dcfault. This action arises out of an agreement between plaintiff and defendants pursuant to which plaintiff provided acting services to defendant Szul Jewelry, Inc. (Szul) and its advertiscmcnt production company Q2 Entertainment (Q2). In November of 2007, plaintiff participaled in a film shoot as part of the production of an advertisement for Szul s jewelry products. Veriiied Complaint, p. 2-3. She alleges that she was told that the advertisement was to be of a comedic nature. Id. , at 3. She was asked to express excitement and pleasure in response to being given one of Szul s products. Id., at 3-4. She alleges that the lollowing month, Szul used the footage in an internet advertisement and used it out of context in such a way as to suggest that she derived sexual pleasure from receiving the necklace. Plaintiff claims that she never consented to the use o l her image in such maimer. Id,, at 4. She thus brought causes olactioii against defendants for violation of the New York Civil Rights Law Sections 50 and 5 1, violation of the General Business Law Section 349, unfair competition, un-just enrichment, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty. Given the prurient nature of the advertisement and plaintiffs justifiable fear that [* 3] information made public in this lawsuit might damage her reputation and career, plaintiff filed the complaint under the pseudonym JANE DOE. She also avoided stating her name or otherwise identifying herself anywhere in the papers she submitted to the court. By a decision and order dated May 8, 2008, the court denied defendants motion to compel plaintiff to amend the caption to reflect her legal name. In that decision, the court noted that neither defendants nor the public at large would be prejudiced if plaintiff continued the action anonymously. Instead, the court found that the plaintiff might suffer serious harm to her reputation if her involvement in this matter were made public. Equally as important, the court noted that forcing plaintiff to reveal her identity would largely dcfeat the purpose of the action-to prevent the content in the advertisement and her association with it from being made public. In October of 2008, the parties reached a settlement in this action. Plaintifi s counsel avers that the settlement agreement did not permit Defendants to reveal Plaintiffs name to any third party or in any way jeopardize her court-mandated anonymity. Mulhearn Affirm., P. 2. However, Mr. Mulhearn avers that plaintiff has received notice that third parties have received court papers in connection with this case-and despite the diligent efforts of the Court and the parties agreerncnt, have attempted to associate her with the case. Id. P. 3. It appears that plaintiff has held several employment positions that involved working with children and hopes to continue such work in the future. She thus fears that any public association between her and the kind of sexually-charged content that appeared in the advertisement will have potentially catastrophic implications for her future professional endeavors, not to mention her personal reputation, and peace of mind. Id, Plaintiff thus now moves the court to issue an order sealing the entire court file in this case. Defendant has not submitted m y opposition. 22 NYCRR 216.l(a) states that: [* 4] Except where otherwise provided by statute or rule, a court shall not enter an order in any action or proceeding sealing the court records, whether in whole or in part, exccpt upon a writlen finding of good cause, which shall specifjr the grounds thereof. In determining whether good cause has been shown, the court shall consider the interests of the public as well as of the parties. Where it appears neccssary or desirable, thc court may prescribe appropriate notice and opportunity to be heard. Despite this presumption against ordering the sealing of court records, the public s right to access to judicial records is not absolute. Miitter qf Cmin Communications v Hughes, 135 AD2d 35 1 (1 st Dcpt 1987) @ d 74 NY2d 626 ( 1 989). Whether such good cause for sealing exists is a matter of discretion for the trial court and is to bc made by balancing the interest of the public and the partics in lighl of thc facts ol the particular case at bar. Id., See ulso Doe v Bellrnnre- Mwrick I: c.nt. High School Dis/., 1 Misc3d 697 (NYSup 2003), Mutter qf Twentieth Cenlury Fox Film Clorp., 190 AD2d 483 (1st Dept 1993). Also counterbalancing the public s right to access is the strong public interest in encouraging the settlcrnent of private litigation, which may at times be contingent on the parties agreement not to make certain information public. Matler @ C h i n Communicufions,xuprcr (upholding the lower court s decision to seal court records in order to facilitate a settlement the parties made contingent on the nondisclosure of trade secretsj Here, the public has no significant interest in having access to the records submitted in this casc. This is not, for instance, a tort action involving allegations of defective products whcre tlic sealing of records would prevcnt members of the public from receiving notice of the potential harni ofproducts they had purchased. ScIe Mutter o Twentieth CenfuryFox Film Cory. Nor is it f an action involving the conduct of a government agency or any matter of general public concerii. It is, instead, a private matter between the parties and involves material of a salacious nature, the continued public availability of which could cause significant harm to plaintiff s career and reputation. Further, public access to this information, especially if it can be connected to the [* 5] plaintiff, would defeat the purpose of the settlement agreement-ensuring that the content of thc advertisement and the facts surrounding its creation would not be available to the general public. Accordingly, it is liercby ORDERED that, upon good cause shown, plaintiffs motion for an order lo seal the entire court file in this action is granted, on default, and it is further ORDERED that the County Clerk is directed to seal the file in this action in its entirety upon service on him of a copy of this order; and it is further ORDEICED that thereafter, or until further order of the court, the County Clerk shall deny access to the iile to anyone (other than the staff of the County Clerk or the court) except for counsel of record for any party to this case, a party, and any representative of counsel of rccord fur a party upon presentation to the County Clerk of written authorization from said counsel. NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE
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