PRCM Advisers LLC v. Two Harbors Investment Corp.
- Lewis Kaplan
- 1:20-cv-05649
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In PRCM Advisers v. Two Harbors, Magistrate Judge Moses rejected proposed redactions and ordered public filing of an unredacted expert-opinion order.
The parties to the case, particularly Two Harbors Investment Corp. and PRCM Advisers LLC, were affected by the ruling on public access to the sealed documents and proposed redactions.
What happened
PRCM Advisers LLC and Two Harbors Investment Corp. submitted proposals about redacting two sealed documents: a report and recommendation on their summary-judgment motions and an order concerning expert opinions.
The court accepted most proposed redactions to the report and recommendation and said it would file a redacted version publicly. It rejected both proposed redactions to the expert-opinion order because they described software and an expert’s view only at a high level, without technical detail.
Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses ordered that an unredacted version of the expert-opinion order would be filed publicly on May 1, 2025, unless a party first submitted a letter brief showing why the redactions should be allowed.
The detailed version
- PRCM Advisers LLC v. Two Harbors Investment Corp. · No. 1:20-cv-05649
- Lewis Kaplan
- Apr. 17, 2025
What the order addressed
The court reviewed the parties’ proposals for redacting two documents that were under seal: a report and recommendation concerning the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment, and an opinion and order concerning the parties’ cross-motions to exclude various expert opinions.
Rulings on the proposed redactions
The court accepted most of the requested redactions to the report and recommendation and stated that it would soon file a redacted version on the public docket.
The court rejected both proposed redactions to the opinion and order concerning the expert opinions. Applying the standard from Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, the court found that neither proposed redaction justified withholding the material from public view. The first passage described one software program at a high level and contained no technical detail. The second passage discussed, also at a high level, one expert’s view that it would not be difficult for Two Harbors Investment Corp. to replace or reproduce the intellectual property at issue.
Result
The court stated that it would file an unredacted version of the expert-opinion order on the public docket on May 1, 2025, unless one or both parties submitted a letter brief before then persuading the court that the proposed redactions should be maintained. The order was signed by United States Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.