The common-law right of access to judicial records recognized by the Tenth Circuit “is not absolute.” The presumption can be rebutted when “countervailing interests heavily outweigh the public interests in access.” To satisfy this standard, the party seeking to maintain documents under seal “must articulate a real and substantial interest that justifies depriving the public of access to the records that inform [the] decision-making process.” …

Parson argues that the Letter should remain sealed because it is false, libelous, injures his business reputation, and contains private information that will subject him to “suffering and embarrassment.” Parson argues his privacy interests are substantial due to the “outrageousness” of the allegations and his strong likelihood of success….

Upon weighing Parson’s interests in maintaining the privacy of the disputed judicial documents against the public’s interest in access to the adjudicative process, the Court concludes public access must prevail. The Letter accuses Parson of scurrilous behavior, calls him names, and essentially seeks to dissuade others from supporting Parson in his candidacy for state representative. It is less than one page long and written in the form of a bulletin or flyer. If believed, the Letter could potentially damage Parson’s reputation, business, and political ambitions.

However, the Letter does not reference Parson’s sensitive or private information, such as bank account records, social security numbers, or family members’ names. Nor does it reference or name any third parties or their sensitive information.

This is a garden-variety libel case involving a few allegedly false statements about an individual running for office that are embarrassing and potentially injurious to his reputation and business dealings. Parson has failed to articulate any privacy interests that “heavily outweigh” public access and warrant the drastic remedy of preventing the public from understanding the nature of his lawsuit. Courts have held that injury to one’s reputation and potential embarrassment generally do not outweigh the strong presumption of public access attaching to judicial documents. See Mann v. Boatright, 477 F.3d 1140, 1149 (10th Cir. 2007) (embarrassment flowing to plaintiff based on allegations in her own complaint regarding ongoing feud with family and disclosure of Alzheimer’s diagnosis was not “sufficiently critical” to outweigh strong presumption in favor of public access); In re Se. Milk Antitrust Litig., 666 F. Supp. 2d 908, 915 (E.D. Tenn. 2009) (noting that “harm to reputation” is generally not sufficient to overcome presumption in favor of public access); Hillsboro Feed Co. v. Biro, No. 2:13-cv-405- PJK-LAM, 2013 WL 12329129, at *1 (D.N.M. Sept. 17, 2013) (declining to seal judicial records that included “highly-personal, unflattering details” about personal relationships and allegations about a party’s mental health); cf. Giuffre v. Maxwell, 325 F. Supp. 3d 428, 446 (S.D.N.Y. 2018) (finding strong presumption of public access to summary judgment records was outweighed by privacy interests of “dozens of non-parties who provided highly confidential information relating to their own stories … in reliance” on a protective order, and where pleadings contained sensitive information about sexual abuse of minors).

Further, the Court finds Parson’s privacy interests in the Letter particularly uncompelling, because Parson was running for public office when the Letter was written and the Letter expressly references his candidacy.

Parson seems to assert that the Court should test Farley’s defenses and, presumably, deny the motion to unseal if Parson is likely to succeed on the merits of his libel or false light invasion of privacy claims. This argument misses the point. If Parson succeeds at summary judgment or trial, the Letter’s contents will be the focal point of that adjudicatory process. If the Letter and its contents remain sealed, future court proceedings would need to remain sealed, and the public would be excluded from the process.

The public would be unable to determine whether and to what extent a candidate for public office successfully prosecuted a libel claim and obtained compensatory and/or injunctive relief. Volokh, the proposed intervenor, wants to review, understand, and comment on these legal proceedings both due to his interest in First Amendment jurisprudence and to assist the public in checking the integrity of the judicial branch. These are proper and laudable purposes.

Although Parson appears to believe his lawsuit is a private matter, he is mistaken. By seeking money damages and injunctive relief in a court of law, he subjected himself to public court proceedings, including any consequences of further public disclosure of the Letter…. “Once a matter is brought before a court for resolution, it is no longer solely the parties’ case, but also the public’s case.” ….