1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 DUNDON ADVISERS LLC, Case No. 25-cv-05272-EMC (EMC)

8 Plaintiffs,

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO SEAL

9 v.

10 ELIOT L. BUCHANAN, Docket No. 2 11 Defendants.

12 13 14 15 Before the Court is Defendant’s motion to seal the operative complaints in this action in 16 their entirety. Defendant’s motion does not satisfy the compelling reasons standard. See In re 17 Google Location History Litig., 514 F. Supp. 3d 1147, 1161 (N.D. Cal. 2021) (“[T]he compelling 18 reasons standard applies to the sealing of a complaint precisely because the complaint forms the 19 foundation of the lawsuit.”). The mere fact that a complaint would “reveal allegations” against 20 Defendant is not a compelling reason to seal. The Bankruptcy Court’s Chapter 11 Plan likewise 21 does not justify the requested sealing. The plan is not a sealing determination; it merely provides 22 that the Trustee “use its best efforts to file the Complaints under seal.” In this case, best efforts 23 means complying with Local Rule 79-5 and only requesting sealing narrowly tailored to material 24 that satisfies the compelling reason standard.

25 26 27 1 Defendant’s motion is DENIED without prejudice to a renewed motion to seal, which 2 must be filed within 14 days. If no renewed motion is filed, the complaints shall be unsealed. 3 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. 5 6 || Dated: September 8, 2025 7 8

EDW. M. CHEN

9 United States District Judge 10 11 12

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