Local Rule 9018. PROCEDURES FOR THE SEALED FILING OF HIGHLY SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS AND/OR SECRET, CONFIDENTIAL, SCANDALOUS, OR DEFAMATORY MATTER.

(a) Definitions.

(1) Highly Sensitive Document(s) (“HSD”): Any unclassified documents involving: foreign sovereign interests; criminal activity related to cybersecurity; intellectual property, or trade secrets; terrorism; investigation of public officials; information that could have a potentially negative impact on national security of foreign relations of the United States; and sensitive commercial information likely to be of interest to foreign powers

(2) Secret, Confidential, Scandalous, or Defamatory Matter (“SCSDM”): Those documents defined in Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9018.

(b) Motion to file under seal. No document will be filed with the Court under seal in the absence of a court order authorizing a sealed filing. Any party in interest seeking to have purported HSD and/or document(s) believed to contain SCSDM filed under seal must electronically file an appropriate motion (but not the purported HSD and/or document(s) believed to contain SCSDM themselves), unless the electronic filing of such a motion is prohibited by law, or such a motion is exempt or excepted from the court’s electronic filing requirements.

If the motion itself is claimed to be HSD and/or is believed to contain SCSDM, the movant must serve and electronically file a redacted version of the motion, clearly marked as HSD and/or as containing SCSDM, and simultaneously submit an unredacted paper copy of the motion to the Court for in camera review.

After the motion is filed, and as a predicate to the Court’s decision as to whether a sealed filing is warranted, the movant must deliver a paper copy of the purported HSD and/or the document(s) believed to contain SCSDM to the assigned judge for in camera inspection. The paper copy submitted to the assigned judge for in camera inspection must clearly identify the portions that are designated as HSD, and/or the portions that are designated as containing SCSDM. The paper copy submitted to the assigned judge for in camera inspection must be accompanied by a captioned cover sheet complying with LR 9004, indicating that it is being submitted in camera pursuant to this rule. Counsel must provide an envelope large enough for the paper copy of the document(s) at issue to be sealed without being folded. A paper copy of a proposed order granting the motion to seal must be included with the paper copy of the document(s) submitted for in camera inspection by the Court.

(c) Order. Upon receiving the paper copy of the document(s) identified and submitted by the movant as HSD and/or containing SCSDM, the assigned judge will conduct an in camera inspection. After completing that in camera inspection, the assigned judge will enter an appropriate order directing that all or part of the document(s) be filed under seal, be made part of the official public file, or be permitted to be withdrawn. If the assigned judge completes the in camera inspection and concludes that some or all of the document(s) should be filed under seal because they are HSD and/or contain SCSDM, the court will enter an order accordingly. The court order authorizing the filing of such documents under seal will be filed electronically, unless prohibited by law.

(d) Filing of sealed documents. In cases where the assigned judge conducts the in camera inspection provided for under this rule, concludes that some or all of the document(s) are HSD and/or contain SCSDM, and orders them to be filed under seal, the clerk shall file such sealed documents only in paper form, or on a secure standalone computer system that is not connected to any network.

(e) Retention of sealed documents. After the underlying bankruptcy case or adversary proceeding is closed, the clerk must give the parties notice that all documents sealed under this rule will be destroyed, unless the party that submitted the sealed document(s) obtains a court order directing that the sealed documents shall be returned to them.