Wyse v. Metropolitan Commercial Bank

Background

Michael Wyse, acting as plan administrator for the Voyager Wind-Down Debtor, filed a letter motion concerning the continued sealing of the complaint. Wyse said Metropolitan Commercial Bank had asserted that certain information in a draft complaint was protected under a confidentiality agreement between the parties in the pending Voyager bankruptcy proceeding. Wyse did not agree that the information should remain protected and asked the court to establish a briefing schedule on the issue.

The court ordered briefing. Metropolitan Commercial Bank argued that two categories of information—internal emails and draft contracts—were confidential and should remain under seal. Wyse responded that disclosure would not cause competitive harm, emphasizing that the information was several years old and that the bank had not identified specific business risks. Metropolitan Commercial Bank also separately asked Wyse, as assignee of claims belonging to more than 30,000 assignors, to provide the names of Voyager account holders. The order does not state a disposition of that separate request.

Ruling

After reviewing the sealed material, the court sustained the redactions in paragraphs 80 through 85 of the complaint. It otherwise found no basis for continued sealing and directed Wyse to promptly refile the complaint in accordance with the order. Thus, the order required the complaint to remain partially sealed only as to the information in paragraphs 80 through 85. Separately, the court stated that, as proposed by Wyse, it was prepared to approve a confidentiality agreement consistent with the requirements of a Federal Trade Commission order. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the order on January 16, 2025.