BDO SEIDMAN, LLP, APPELLANT,
v.
BANCO ESPIRITO SANTO INTERNATIONAL, LTD., ESB FINANCE, LTD. AND BANCO ESPIRITO SANTO S.A., APPELLEES
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BDO Seidman sought to file an appendix under seal in connection with a supersedeas bond motion. The court denied the motion because BDO Seidman failed to meet the legal standards for sealing court records established in Barron v. Florida Freedom Newspapers, Inc.
The court denied BDO Seidman's motion to seal because the motion was facially insufficient and did not address the Barron standards for sealing court proceedings and records. The court permitted BDO Seidman to refile within ten days if there is a good faith basis for sealing under the Barron test.
[1] A strong presumption of openness exists for all court proceedings and filed records, which are considered public records available for examination.
[2] The party seeking to seal court proceedings or records bears the burden of proof to justify closure.
Previewing 2 of 6 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“First, a strong presumption of openness exists for all court proceedings. A trial is a public event, and the filed records of court proceedings are public records available for public examination.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that court proceedings and records are presumptively open to the public.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBDO Seidman filed a motion for leave to file an appendix under seal in support of a supersedeas bond motion. The appendix contained public items inclu…
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On Motion to Seal
Appellant BDO Seidman, LLP, has filed a motion for leave to file an appendix under seal. The appendix is filed in support of a motion BDO Seidman has filed in this court relating, to a supersedeas bond.
Upon inspection, the appendix consists of numerous obviously public items, such as the verdict form, final judgment, civil supresedeas bonds, pleadings, and hearing transcripts.
The test for sealing of court proceedings and records is set forth in Barron v. Florida Freedom Newspapers, Inc., 531 So.2d 113, 118 (Fla.1988). See also Art. I, § 24 Fla. Const. (1968) (amended 2002).
The Barron decision states, in part:
First, a strong presumption of openness exists for all court proceedings. A trial is a public event, and the filed *2records of court proceedings are public records available for public examination.
Second* both the public and news media shall have standing to challenge any closure order. The burden of proof in these proceedings shall always be on the party seeking closure.
Third, closure of court proceedings or records should occur only when necessary (a) to comply with established public policy set forth in the constitution, statutes, rules, or case law; (b) to protect trade secrets; (c) to protect a compelling governmental interest [e.g., national security; confidential informants]; (d) to obtain evidence to properly determine legal’ issues in a case; (e) to avoid substantial injury to innocent third parties [e.g., to protect young witnesses from offensive testimony; to protect children in a divorce]; or (f) to avoid substantial injury to a party by disclosure of matters protected by a common law or privacy right not generally inherent in the specific type of civil proceeding sought to be closed. We find that, under appropriate circumstances, the constitutional right of privacy established in Florida by the adoption of article I, section 23, could form a constitutional basis for closure under (e) or (f). In this regard, we disagree with the distridt court in the instant case. Further, we note that it is generally the content of the subject matter rather than the status of the party that determines whether a privacy interest exists and closure should be permitted. However, a privacy claim may be negated if the content of the subject matter directly concerns a position of public trust held by the individual seeking closure.
Fourth, before entering a closure order, the trial court shall determine that no reasonable alternative is available to accomplish the desired result, and, if none exists, the trial court must use the least restrictive closure necessary to accomplish its purpose.
Fifth, the presumption of openness continues through the appellate review process, and the party seeking closure continues to have the burden to justify closure. This heavy burden is placed on the party seeking closure not only because of the strong presumption of openness but also because those challenging the order will generally have little or no knowledge of the specific grounds requiring closure.
Id. at 118-19; see also Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.420.
BDO Seidman’s motion is facially insufficient because it does not address the Barron standards. We therefore deny the motion to seal. This ruling is without prejudice to BDO Seidman to file a new motion to seal within ten days, if there is a good faith basis for asserting that any portion of the appendix qualifies for sealing under the test set forth in Barron.
Motion denied.*
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Rivero v. Farach, 247 So. 3d 632 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)
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Tecklenburg v. Kouremetis, 268 So. 3d 914 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019)
Authorities Cited
- Dempsey J. Barron v. Fla. Freedom Newspapers, Inc., 531 So. 2d 113 (Fla. 1988)
- Friend v. Friend, 866 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)