Grecia v. Brass Lion Entertainment, Inc.
- Sidney Stein
- 1:25-cv-01484
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Grecia v. Brass Lion, Magistrate Judge Stein denied four motions concerning discovery, government action, funds, and sanctions.
William Grecia's four motions were denied, leaving his requests for early discovery, Department of Justice action, return of funds, and sanctions unresolved in this order.
What happened
In Grecia v. Brass Lion Entertainment, Inc., William Grecia, who was representing himself, filed four motions. He sought court oversight of the Department of Justice, disclosure of Justice Department evidence, return of funds and sanctions against the defendants, and production of currency transaction reports.
The court denied all four motions. It said discovery could not begin before the required meeting between the parties because the defendants had not been served or appeared. Grecia had not shown a good reason for early discovery, and his requests were unclear or unrelated to his claims, which arose from an alleged breach of a nondisclosure agreement. The court also said it could not order the Justice Department to investigate or prosecute, and the request for return of funds repeated an earlier request for emergency relief.
Magistrate Judge Gary Stein concluded that nothing in the new motions justified changing the earlier recommendation concerning emergency relief. The court denied the motions at Docket Nos. 10, 11, 15, and 16.
The detailed version
- Grecia v. Brass Lion Entertainment, Inc. · No. 1:25-cv-01484
- Sidney Stein
- Mar. 12, 2025
Background
William Grecia, proceeding without a lawyer, filed four motions within seven days:
- A motion asking the court to oversee the Department of Justice's handling of withheld “Regulation E funds” and enforcement of federal law (Dkt. No. 10).
- A motion seeking disclosure of Department of Justice criminal racketeering evidence and whistleblower testimony (Dkt. No. 11).
- A motion seeking return of “Regulation E funds” and sanctions against the defendants (Dkt. No. 15).
- A motion seeking production of Currency Transaction Reports under Regulation E and the Bank Secrecy Act (Dkt. No. 16).
The opinion states that Grecia's claims arose from an alleged breach of a nondisclosure agreement between him and Brass Lion Entertainment, Inc. The opinion also states that the case did not assert a racketeering claim. The defendants had not yet been served or appeared, so far as the docket reflected.
Reasons for the Rulings
The court treated the motions seeking Department of Justice evidence and Currency Transaction Reports as discovery requests. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1), parties generally may not seek discovery before the required conference between the parties unless the court allows it. Courts may permit early discovery when there is good cause and the request is reasonable. The court found that Grecia had not shown good cause or made reasonable requests.
The court said the request for Department of Justice evidence was frivolous because Grecia described it as evidence for a pending civil racketeering case even though this case asserted no racketeering claim. The request for Currency Transaction Reports did not identify the financial institutions from which the reports were sought. Neither request explained how the information was relevant to the claims in this case or how Grecia would be harmed without early discovery.
The court also found the request for judicial oversight over the Department of Justice frivolous. It stated that the court had no power to order the Department of Justice to begin an investigation or enforcement action. Finally, the court treated the request to compel return of the funds as essentially repeating Grecia's earlier motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The magistrate judge had previously found that motion fatally flawed and recommended denial, and the court stated that the new filing did not justify reconsideration.
Disposition
The court denied Grecia's motions at Docket Nos. 10, 11, 15, and 16. The opinion does not state that any motion was denied with or without prejudice. The Clerk of Court was asked to mail a copy of the Report and Recommendation to Grecia at the mailing address on the docket.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.