BILLMAN, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF ALL OTHERS SIMILARLY SITUATED vs THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

23CV047777: BILLMAN, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF ALL OTHERS SIMILARLY SITUATED vs THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 06/02/2026 Hearing on Motion to Seal Third Party Avantus LLC's Motion to Seal And For Further Relief; filed by Avantus LLC (Non-Party) CRS# 785807841987 in Department 21

Tentative Ruling - 06/01/2026 S. Raj Chatterjee

The Motion re: THIRD PARTY AVANTUS LLCS NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION TO SEAL AND FOR FURTHER RELIEF filed by Avantus LLC on 05/05/2026 is Denied.

The Motion of third party Avantus to seal under CRC 2.550 is DENIED. The Motion of third party Avantus for sanctions related to violation of protective order is DENIED.

The claims in this case assert that the Regents acted improvidently when making the investment in 8minuteenergy and during the resulting unwinding process. On January 9, 2020, The Regents directed $150 million of the UCRP’s assets into a solar development joint venture called 8minutenergy US Solar LLC. (Cpt para 4, 29.) Less than two years later, between December 17, 2020, and December 3, 2021, the JV unwound and the Regents allegedly breached contractual and fiduciary duties by mismanaging the unwinding of the investment. (Cpt para 4, 57-66.)

The parties exchanged documents in the course of the litigation subject to a protective order. Plaintiff Billman filed certain documents in the Court file that Avantus asserts were confidential and should have been filed conditionally under seal.

MOITON TO SEAL

A motion to seal under C.R.C. 2.550 is different from most motions because the “opposition” is not really the opposing party but the people of the State of California and their interest in an open and transparent judicial system. Even where the motion is not opposed, the Court has an obligation to review the motion and seal only those documents that meet the requirements of C.R.C. 2.550.

Under C.R.C. 2.550, the Court may order that a court record be filed under seal only if it expressly finds facts that establish: (1) There exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record; (2) The overriding interest supports sealing the record; (3) A substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be prejudiced if the record is not sealed; (4) The proposed sealing order is narrowly tailored; and (5) No less restrictive means exist to protect the overriding interest.

The party seeking to seal a document in a Court file has the burden of presenting facts sufficient to justify the sealing. C.R.C. 2.551(b)(1). Although C.R.C. 2.550 and NBC Subsidiary (KNBC- TV), Inc. v. Superior Court (1999) 20 Cal. 4th 1178, 1181, both require that the trial court find that the party moving to seal satisfies each of the five factors, the trial court exercises its discretion in determining whether those criteria have been met. In re Providian Credit Card Cases (2002) 96 Cal. App. 4th 292, 299-300.

This suggests that the trial court can use a sliding 23CV047777: BILLMAN, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF ALL OTHERS SIMILARLY SITUATED vs THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 06/02/2026 Hearing on Motion to Seal Third Party Avantus LLC's Motion to Seal And For Further Relief; filed by Avantus LLC (Non-Party) CRS# 785807841987 in Department 21 scale or balancing approach where a strong showing on one factor can compensate for a weak showing on another factor.

Third party Avantus seeks to seal certain documents. The information is (1) information contained in and derived from Avantus’ Project Information Booklet (Ex. AA) and Designated Project Contribution Notice (Ex. DD) and (2) information related to confidential valuations and appraisals of Avantus’ development projects that Avantus produced or commissioned. (Motion at 1:15-22; Arasimowicz Dec at para 10-16.) The Court finds that the information is not of current commercial value.

Project Information Booklet was issued on July 7, 2021, and contains information about US Solar’s then-pending development projects. That information is five years old and not of current commercial value.

The Designated Project Contributions Notice was issued on August 17, 2021, and contained information about what amounts persons were contractually obligated to contribute to support the pipeline of projects through the Unwinding. That information is five years old and not of current commercial value.

Information in the Kleinstuber Declaration includes information about how Avantus prepared, executed, and valued projects. The “Alvarez & Marsal Valuation Services” report appears to be as of May 27, 2020. The “8minute Solar Energy, M&A Activity Review” appears to be dated May 2021. That information is five years old and not of current commercial value.

MOTION FOR SANCTIONS

Third party Avantus seeks sanctions because Plaintiff Billman filed certain documents in the Court file that Avantus asserts were confidential and should have been filed conditionally under seal. The record reflects that certain documents were produced in arbitration, which were then cross-produced in this case, and that there were inadvertent failures to designate documents as confidential that resulted in inadvertent filing of documents in court rather than lodging them conditionally under seal. The Court finds no basis for any award of sanctions.

PLEASE NOTE: This tentative ruling will become the ruling of the court if uncontested by 04:00pm the day before your hearing. If you wish to contest the tentative ruling, then both notify opposing counsel directly and the court at the eCourt portal found on the court’s website: www.alameda.courts.ca.gov.

If you have contested the tentative ruling or your tentative ruling reads, “parties to appear,” please use the following link to access your hearing at the appropriate date and time:

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF ALAMEDA

23CV047777: BILLMAN, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF ALL OTHERS SIMILARLY SITUATED vs THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 06/02/2026 Hearing on Motion to Seal Third Party Avantus LLC's Motion to Seal And For Further Relief; filed by Avantus LLC (Non-Party) CRS# 785807841987 in Department 21 https://alameda-courts-ca-gov.zoomgov.com/my/department21. If no party has contested the tentative ruling, then no appearance is necessary.