Banco San Juan Internacional, Inc. v. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- John Koeltl
- 1:23-cv-06414
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Banco San Juan v. Federal Reserve Bank, Judge Koeltl granted the New York Fed’s application to seal or redact confidential information.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York was permitted to file specified materials in redacted or sealed form. The order also affected Banco San Juan Internacional, Inc., whose confidential business and customer information was involved, and limited public access to the covered information.
What happened
Banco San Juan Internacional, Inc. v. Federal Reserve Bank of New York concerns the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s request to seal or redact information filed in support of its opposition to Banco San Juan’s preliminary-injunction motion.
The requested material included nonpublic financial, compliance, supervisory, customer, and transaction information, as well as commercially sensitive information about Banco San Juan’s operations. Banco San Juan did not object to the application.
Judge John G. Koeltl granted the application. The order addressed only the filing of redacted and sealed materials, not the merits of the preliminary-injunction dispute.
The detailed version
- Banco San Juan Internacional, Inc. v. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York · No. 1:23-cv-06414
- John Koeltl
- Aug. 23, 2023
Background
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York asked for permission to file a redacted opposition to Banco San Juan Internacional, Inc.’s motion for a preliminary injunction. It also asked to file under seal or redact portions of several exhibits to a declaration.
The requested redactions and sealing concerned nonpublic commercial information about Banco San Juan, including recent financial data, compliance-program information, supervisory information, customer information, and customer transaction activity. The application also referred to information that Banco San Juan had previously sought to redact or file under seal, including information about its operations, clients, regulator interactions, customers, and private examiners’ reports. Banco San Juan did not object.
Legal standard
The application described the Second Circuit’s three-part test for sealing court filings. The court first determines whether the materials are judicial documents to which a common-law presumption of public access applies. It then determines the weight of that presumption and balances it against competing considerations, including third-party privacy interests and potential harm to law enforcement or judicial efficiency. Any sealing or redaction must be narrowly tailored.
The application cited decisions recognizing that confidential customer information and commercially sensitive information may justify sealing or redaction when the privacy or competitive-harm concerns outweigh the presumption of public access.
Ruling
On August 23, 2023, Judge John G. Koeltl entered a one-line order stating: “Application granted. SO ORDERED.” The ruling granted the New York Fed permission to file the requested redacted opposition and sealed or redacted exhibits. The provided text does not contain a ruling on the preliminary-injunction motion itself or on the underlying dispute.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.