Kitaj et al v. Van Handel et al

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WO
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
Paul Kitaj, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
Tammy Van Handel, et al.,
Defendants.
No. CV-22-00463-TUC-JCH
ORDER
Before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Exceed Page Limitation for Motion for
Summary Judgment and Statement of Facts (Doc. 214), Motion to File Exhibits Under Seal
(Doc. 217), and Motion to Allow for Physical Filing of Non-Electronic Exhibits (Doc.
218). Plaintiffs oppose Defendants’ Motion to File Exhibits Under Seal (Doc. 220).
The Court will grant Defendants’ Motion to Exceed Page Limitation for Motion for
Summary Judgment and Statement of Facts (Doc. 214) and Motion to Allow for Physical
Filing of Non-Electronic Exhibits (Doc. 218). The Court will grant in part and deny in part
Defendants’ Motion to File Exhibits Under Seal (Doc. 217).
I. 	Motion to Seal
Defendants request the Court seal exhibits to their Motion for Summary Judgment
because “[t]he exhibits contain information that is protected including the full name of the
minor party, full names of non-party minors, addresses, personal phone numbers, medical
records, and other sensitive information regarding the minor party and the parties regarding
the underlying dependency matter.” (Doc. 217 at 2.) Defendants argue that Arizona state
Case 4:22-cv-00463-JCH Document 222 Filed 01/09/26 Page 1 of 6

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laws, A.R.S. § 41-1959(A) and A.R.S. § 8-208(F), “protect the confidentiality of records
in child-protective cases provide compelling reasons to grant a motion to seal in a related
case brought in federal court.” (Id. at 3.)
Plaintiffs 	oppose 	Defendants’ 	Motion, 	arguing 	that 	the 	fundamental 	rights
implicated in this case outweigh any potential reason for sealing the record and that
Defendants have not met their burdens under Local Rule of Civil Procedure (“LRCiv”)
5.6(b) or applicable federal caselaw. (Doc. 220 at 1–2, 6–7.) Further, Defendants argue
certain documents are already in the public domain and are not covered by any state
confidentiality provision. (Id. at 6.) Finally, Plaintiffs argue that any potential privacy
concerns can be adequately addressed by redacting specific information. (Doc. 220 at 6–7.)
a. 	Applicable Law
There is a “general right to inspect and copy public records and documents,
including judicial records and documents.” Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589,
597 (1978). While this right is not absolute, the Ninth Circuit “start[s] with a strong
presumption in favor of access to court records.” Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp.,
LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,
331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir.2003)). To overcome this presumption, a party seeking to
seal materials attached to a dispositive motion, such as a motion for summary judgment,
must meet the “compelling reasons” standard:
Under this stringent standard, a court may seal records only when it finds a
compelling reason and articulates the factual basis for its ruling, without
relying on hypothesis or conjecture. The court must then conscientiously
balance the competing interests of the public and the party who seeks to keep
certain judicial records secret. What constitutes a “compelling reason” is best
left to the sound discretion of the trial court.
Id. at 1096–98 (cleaned up) (citing Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172,
1178–79 (9th Cir. 2006) and Nixon, 447 F.3d at 435 U.S. at 599). “In general, ‘compelling
reasons’ 	sufficient 	to . . . justify 	sealing 	court 	records 	exist 	when 	such 	‘court 	files
might . . . become a vehicle for improper purposes,’ such as the use of records to gratify
private spite, promote public scandal, circulate libelous statements, or release trade
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secrets.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (quoting Nixon, 435 U.S. at 597 & n.7). “The mere
fact that the production of records may lead to a litigant’s embarrassment, incrimination,
or exposure to further litigation will not, without more, compel the court to seal its records.”
Id.
A party must satisfy the compelling reasons standard even if the motion, or its
attachments, were previously filed under seal or protective order. Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1136
(“[T]he presumption of access is not rebutted where . . . documents subject to a protective
order are filed under seal as attachments to a dispositive motion.”). Further, the policy of
promoting access to public documents dictates that only that information for which there
is a compelling reason to seal should actually be sealed. Likewise, LRCiv 5.6(b) requires
“[a]ny motion or stipulation to file a document under seal must set forth a clear statement
of the facts and legal authority justifying the filing of the document under seal.”
Accordingly, to the extent that a party wishes to seal an entire document, rather than
redacting certain secret information from that document, the party must provide compelling
reasons to seal all the information in that document. See Kamakana, 447 at 1183.
Otherwise, the party must only seek to redact that information that there is a compelling
reason to seal.
b. 	Analysis
Defendants have articulated compelling reasons to seal juvenile court documents
and DCS records that primarily pertain to others besides Plaintiffs because these documents
are protected under Arizona state law. See Demaree v. Pederson, 887 F.3d 870, 885 (9th
Cir. 2018) (finding district court properly sealed documents in compliance with Arizona
state law). “Although state laws keeping child-protective case records and proceedings
private do not govern civil rights cases in federal court, permitting parties ‘to import
confidential documents into federal court and thereby make them public would seriously
undermine the state’s policy.’” Ingram v. Mouser, No. 1:19-CV-00308-DCN, 2023 WL
5017011, at *2 (D. Idaho Aug. 7, 2023) (quoting Tower v. Leslie-Brown, 167 F. Supp. 2d
399, 405 (D. Me. 2001)). “Accordingly, such state laws provide compelling reasons to
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grant a motion to seal in a related case brought in federal court.” Id. (citing T.T. v. Cnty. of
San Diego, 2020 WL 6118781, at *1 (S.D. Cal. Oct. 16, 2020)) see Crockford v. Clark
Cnty. Dep’t of Fam. Servs., No. 2:25-CV-00917-JAD-MDC, 2025 WL 3251427, at *5 (D.
Nev. Nov. 21, 2025) (State law “requirements can provide compelling reasons to consider
whether certain documents should be sealed.”).
First, Arizona law protects dependency proceeding records: “Except as otherwise
provided by law, the records of . . . dependency proceeding[s] shall not be open to public
inspection.” A.R.S. § 8-208(F). Exhibits 5, 8, 14, 16, 35, 36, 43, 46–53, and 63 are
dependency proceeding records. These exhibits pertain to a minor, with some including the
name of the minor, his age, identifying information about his mother, and/or identifying
information about his maternal grandmother. Given Arizona state law, that other district
courts have lodged under seal the very type of documents at issue here, and the confidential
nature of the records, the Court finds compelling reason to seal these exhibits. See, e.g.,
Olivares v. Cnty. of Stanislaus, No. 2:22-CV-00753-DC-CSK, 2025 WL 3130873, at *2
(E.D. Cal. Nov. 7, 2025) (“Courts have found that maintaining the confidentiality of
juvenile court records . . . [is a ] compelling reason[] to file such documents under seal.”);
Meyer v. Cnty. of San Diego, No. 3:21-CV-00341-LL-BLM, 2022 WL 395967, at *8 (S.D.
Cal. Feb. 8, 2022) (sealing juvenile court records).
Second, Arizona law provides that DCS records are confidential: “Department
records and files that contain information related to investigations conducted by child
protective services or the department of child safety are confidential. The department shall
release this information only as prescribed by [A.R.S.] § 8-807.” A.R.S. § 41-1959(A). As
pertinent here, § 8-807 provides access to DCS information to a court or a person who is
the subject of the DCS information. “A person may authorize the release of DCS
information about the person but may not waive the confidentiality of DCS information
concerning 	any 	other 	person.” 	§ 8-807(Q). 	Otherwise, 	those 	who 	receive 	“DCS
information shall maintain the confidentiality of the information and shall not further
disclose the information unless the disclosure is authorized by law or a court order.”
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§ 8-807(U). Thus, there is compelling reason to seal DCS records where redactions are
insufficient to protect the confidentiality of DCS information concerning persons other than
Plaintiffs.
Exhibits 2, 3, 4, 25, 29, 30, and 57 are DCS records pertaining primarily to minors
and other persons subject to DCS investigations. The documents are riddled with
identifying information about the minor, his mother, and/or his maternal grandmother and
redactions would not suffice to protect the identity of these individuals or the privacy of
the minor. The Court finds compelling reasons to seal these documents to comply with
Arizona state law, Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(a), and L.R.Civ. 5.6, which are not outweighed by
the public’s interest in free access to information related to the judicial process. See, e.g.,
Miles v. City of Hartford, No. 3:08 CV 307 (MRK), 2009 WL 10717573, at *1 (D. Conn.
June 17, 2009) (finding compelling reasons to seal DCS records that were confidential
under Connecticut state law); Fratello v. Wilde, No. 2:25-CV-01606-APG-EJY, 2025 WL
3707565, at *6 (D. Nev. Dec. 19, 2025) (same under Nevada state law).
Defendants also seek to seal Exhibits 11, 13, 15, 17–19, 22–24, 32, 37, 39, 42, 45,
56, and 62. These documents pertain primarily to Plaintiffs, who have waived their
confidentiality. See § 8-807(Q) (see generally Doc. 220). The Court does not find
compelling reason to seal these documents. However, the Court will order redactions of
identifying information of other persons subject to DCS investigations to abide by Arizona
law and Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(a) and L.R.Civ. 5.6, including names of minors, the mother,
and relatives, or other identifying information such as phone numbers or addresses.
IV. 	Order
IT IS ORDERED:
(1) Granting Defendants’ Motion to Exceed Page Limitation for Motion for
Summary Judgment and Statement of Facts (Doc. 214) and Motion to Allow for
Physical Filing of Non-Electronic Exhibits (Doc. 218).
(2) Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 215) and Statement of Facts
(Doc. 216) are accepted as filed.
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(3) Defendants Tammy Van Handel and Kimberly Hartwell have leave of the Court
to file a physical copy of video recordings in this case and shall deliver a copy
of the videos on a flash drive to the Clerk of the Court.
(4) Granting in part and denying in part Defendants’ Motion to File Exhibits
Under Seal (Doc. 217).
(5) Exhibits 2–5, 8, 14, 16, 25, 29, 30, 35, 36, 43, 46–53, 57, and 63 to Defendants’
Motion for Summary Judgment shall be filed separately from the Motion and
SEALED pursuant to L.R.Civ. 5.6.
(6) The Parties must confer and refile stipulated redacted copies, as instructed
herein, of Exhibits 11, 13, 15, 17–19, 22–24, 32, 37, 39, 42, 45, 56, and 62 within
20 days of the date this Order is filed.
Dated this 6th day of January, 2026.
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