In re Coordinated Pretrial Proceedings in Petroleum Products Antitrust Litigation

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

WILLIAM P. GRAY, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

The present controversy in these consolidated cases pits the public interest in open court proceedings against the private interest in the confidentiality of allegedly commercially sensitive information made available to opposing litigants by court process. This tension is not uncommon in complex civil litigation. At the center of the conflict are umbrella protective orders frequently entered to facilitate discovery in large cases. See, e.g., In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation, 98 F.R.D. 539 (E.D.N.Y.1983);…