

The burden is on the party seeking to seal documents to satisfy the court that the balance of public and private interests favors sealing the documents. (7) why the public interest, including, but not limited to, the public health and safety, is best served by sealing the documents. (6) why alternatives other than sealing the documents are not available to protect legitimate private interests as identified by this Rule and (5) the perceived harm to the parties from disclosure
#Sc form c 41 professional#
(4) the public or professional significance of the lawsuit (3) the reliance of the parties upon expectations of confidentiality The motion shall state the reasons why sealing is necessary, explain why less drastic alternatives to sealing will not afford adequate protection, and address the following factors: Should Rule 26(b)(5), SCRCP, be inapplicable, and absent another governing rule, statute, or order, any party seeking to file documents under seal shall file and serve a "Motion to Seal." The motion shall identify, with specificity, the documents or portions of documents for which sealing is considered necessary, shall contain a non-confidential description of the documents, and shall be accompanied by a separately sealed attachment labeled "Confidential Information to be submitted to Court in Connection with the Motion to Seal." The attachment shall contain the documents for the court to review in camera.

The enforceability of those provisions is governed by general legal principles, not by this Rule. This Rule does not apply to private settlement agreements and shall not be interpreted as approving confidentiality provisions in private settlement agreements where the parties agree to have the matter voluntarily dismissed under Rule 41(a)(1), SCRCP, without court involvement. However, the Court recognizes that as technology advances, court records will be more readily available and this Rule seeks to balance the right of public access to court records with the need for parties to protect truly private or proprietary information from public view and to insure that rules of court are fairly applied. Article I, § 9, of the South Carolina Constitution provides that all courts of this state shall be public and this Rule is intended to ensure that that Constitutional provision is fulfilled. Because South Carolina has a long history of maintaining open court proceedings and records, this Rule is intended to establish guidelines for governing the filing under seal of settlements and other documents. Sealing Documents and Settlement Agreements
