Hellman

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 Francisco Berlanga, Case No. 2:21-cv-00949-KJM-DMC Plaintiff, ORDER Vv. Polaris Industries, Inc., et al., Defendants. 16 Plaintiff and defendants jointly ask this court to seal twenty-eight documents. Notice of Mot. at 2, ECF No. 66; Joint Request at 3-5, “[T]he courts of this country recognize a general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.” Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978) (footnotes omitted). Although that right is not absolute, “‘a strong 22 presumption in favor of access’ is the starting point.” Kamakana v. City of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 24 (9th Cir. 2003)). Courts grant requests to seal records in civil cases in only limited circumstances, 25 such as to protect against “gratif[ication of] private spite or promot[ion of]…