On September 24, 2013 a
Exhibit,Appendix
was filed
involving a dispute between
Lerner, Individually, Chana,
Lerner, Individually, Yshayu,
Lerner, Ppa, Sarah,
and
Boston Showcase Company, Inc.,
Lerner, Chana,
Lerner, Yshayu,
Regal Ware Inc.,
for Torts
in the District Court of Middlesex County.
Preview
Y. 3
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MIDDLESEX, ss. SUPERIOR COURT DEPT.
CIVIL ACTION NO. MICV2013-04165-D
*
SARAH LERNER, PPA CHANA LERNER and YSHAYU *
LERNER, CHANA LERNER, Individually and YSHAYU
LERNER, Individually,
Plaintiffs
*
| rend
JUL $i 2H?
vs.
REGAL WARE, INC. and BOSTON SHOWCASE
COMPANY, INC.,
Defendant
a
DEFENDANT’S REGAL WARE, INC.’s REPLY IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO SEAL
EXHIBIT A OF ITS MOTION TO BIFURCATE TRIAL
NOW COMES the Defendant, Regal Ware, Inc. (Regal), in reply to Plaintiffs opposition
to Regal’s Motion to Seal exhibit A of its Motion to Bifurcate Trial. Defendant largely does not
object to Plaintiffs recitation of the law of impounding, particularly to the extent that it
recognizes the importance of public access to court records and proceedings.
Plaintiff, however, asserts that Regal Ware, Inc.’s (“Regal”) motion only articulates one
ground, yet then quotes three which were clearly stated in Regal’s motion. Defendant is most
concerned with only one of these grounds: that the Plaintiff is fully nude or partially nude in a
significant number of the photos that comprise Exhibit A of the Motion to Bifurcate Trial. For
this reason, Defendant moves to file these photos under seal, primarily because the Plaintiff's
right to privacy is hers, and hers alone to waive if she so chooses.' Defendant takes no position
| Defendant respectfully disputes, however, that any legitimate public interest could be recognized in photographs of
anude child, and believes this issue speaks for itself as a long recognized matter of public policy.on whether the parents of a minor child may waive said child’s right to keep nude photographs of
herself private except to agree that, if anyone has such right, it is her parents.
Defendant moved to file these photos under seal expressly out of respect for Sarah
Lerner’s (“Sarah”) right to privacy and body autonomy. Defendant similarly would have done so
had the photographs depicted a nude adult, and felt it doubly necessary given that Sarah was and
is a child not of an age legally recognized to be able to consent to nude photography.”
These matters aside, Defendant would clarify issues before submitting to the wisdom and
discretion of this Honorable Court regarding whether these photographs should be included in
the public docketing of this motion.
1. Defendant’s Motion to Seal is filed solely for purposes of the instant motion and
is not intended to serve as a motion in limine in any way. Defendants reserve the right to file any
and all appropriate motions in limine prior to the time of trial, but are not, by way of the instant
motion, currently requesting an order which would prejudice Plaintiffs right to introduce
relevant evidence. Defendant defers all argument on such matters until trial or any appropriate
pre-trial hearings scheduled by this Court.
2. Separate and in addition to the privacy interests of Sarah, Defendant filed this
motion and submitted these photographs in a sealed, opaque envelope, in no small part out of
respect for the staff, clerks, and other professionals of this Court who may reasonably expect not
to be exposed to photographs of a nude child. Defendant defers to the wisdom of this Honorable
Court on this issue in setting its own practices and policies, but files in such fashion out of an
abundance of caution and to allow this Court to review such photographs before determining
whether or not they should be part of the public record.3. Defendant has no objection to any narrowly tailored remedy crafted by this Court
in the interest of preserving Lerner’s privacy, including but not limited to the request proposed
by Plaintiff's counsel in its Opposition at page 5.
Respectfully submitted,
REGAL WARE, INC.
By its Attorneys,
istopher J. Sullivan—BBO #548137
csullivan@sullivanlitigation.com
Peter A. Ghattas-BBO # 688872
pghattas@sullivanlitigation.com
Sullivan & Associates, LLC
500 West Cummings Park, Suite 4700
Woburn MA 01801
IF
Dated: (781) 939-5840CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Peter A. Ghattas, counsel for the defendant hereby certify that I served the within
document on all parties of interest by mailing a copy of same, postage prepaid, to:
Joseph A. Swartz, Esq.
Swartz & Swartz
10 Marshall Street
Boston, MA 02108
Dated: Pf Petér A. Ghattas