Tserpelis v. BDO USA PC
- Willis
- 1:25-cv-05613
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Tserpelis v. BDO USA PC, Judge Willis required an unredacted complaint and renewed sealing motion before deciding whether sealing was justified.
Eleni Tserpelis, also identified as Eleni Lagos; BDO USA PC; and the public's access to the unredacted complaint.
What happened
In Tserpelis v. BDO USA PC, Eleni Tserpelis, also identified as Eleni Lagos, asked to file an unredacted complaint under seal while keeping a redacted version public. She said the unredacted complaint contained client names, client-related details, partnership information, revenue figures, personnel matters, and business strategies.
The court directed that an unredacted copy of the complaint be submitted under seal with a renewed motion to seal. The order said the court would rule on sealing after reviewing the unredacted complaint. The provided text does not show a final decision granting or denying sealing.
Judge Jennifer E. Willis issued the direction. The order concerns access to court filings and does not decide the underlying claims against BDO USA PC or any other defendant.
The detailed version
- Tserpelis v. BDO USA PC · No. 1:25-cv-05613
- Willis
- July 21, 2025
Background
Eleni Tserpelis, also identified in the filing as Eleni Lagos, filed a complaint with redactions. Her counsel asked for permission to file a complete, unredacted version under seal. Counsel stated that the proposed unredacted complaint included confidential, proprietary, and commercially sensitive information involving BDO USA PC's clients and business operations.
The requested redactions concerned, among other things, client names and relationships, BDO's partnership structure, revenue targets, client accounts, internal personnel matters, business-development strategies, and revenue, budgeting, and pipeline figures relating to BDO's ASC 740 clients. Counsel also described redacted emails and text messages containing client information.
Arguments and legal standard
The filing argued that the public's right to inspect judicial records is not absolute. It relied on cases discussing the sealing of business information, trade secrets, marketing plans, revenue and pricing information, and customer lists containing identifying information of nonparties. Counsel argued that the confidential client and business information outweighed the public's general interest in access to the complete complaint, while the redacted complaint preserved public access to the allegations.
Court's action
The provided text shows that the court required an unredacted copy of the complaint to be filed under seal together with a renewed motion to seal. It states that, after reviewing the unredacted version, the court would issue a ruling on the motion to seal or redact.
The provided text does not show an express ruling granting or denying the sealing request. It also does not decide the merits of the claims in the complaint. Judge Jennifer E. Willis issued the direction shown in the text.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.