Valelly v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:19-cv-07998
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Valelly v. Merrill Lynch, Judge Caproni granted Merrill Lynch’s application to seal or redact confidential business information in case materials.
Merrill Lynch, non-party Bank of America, Valelly, and members of the public seeking access to the identified case materials.
What happened
Valelly v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated involves an application about keeping certain information from public view in materials filed in the case. Merrill Lynch sought permission to file some materials under seal or with redactions, and non-party Bank of America supported protecting some of the information.
The requested protections covered information about interest-rate setting, financial forecasting, account balances, cash swept, and account numbers, as well as related references in briefs, statements, expert reports, and deposition excerpts. Valelly took no position on the application but questioned some proposed redactions and said greater transparency could help Merrill customers.
Judge Valerie Caproni granted the application. The opinion text does not separately identify which individual redactions or sealed documents were approved beyond granting the application.
The detailed version
- Valelly v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated · No. 1:19-cv-07998
- Valerie Caproni
- Oct. 3, 2023
Background
Merrill Lynch asked the Southern District of New York for permission to file materials under seal or in redacted form. The materials were submitted in connection with Valelly’s motion for partial summary judgment, Merrill Lynch’s motion for summary judgment, and Merrill Lynch’s motion to exclude the opinions and testimony of Valelly’s proposed expert. The request followed a September 12, 2023 order approving procedures for sealing materials in the case.
Merrill Lynch said the requested sealing and redactions concerned confidential information designated by Merrill Lynch and its affiliate, non-party Bank of America, N.A. The materials included information about the methodology and factors used to set interest rates, proposed rate changes, Bank of America’s forecasting methodology, and financial information about Merrill Lynch investment accounts, including account balances, cash swept, and the number of certain accounts.
Parties’ Positions
Merrill Lynch and Bank of America argued that the information was not public, was not shared with competitors, and could cause competitive harm if disclosed. The application listed requested redactions and sealing for portions of motion papers, statements of facts, expert reports, deposition excerpts, and several documents identified by exhibit numbers.
Valelly took no position on the application and left the decision to the Court. Valelly noted that court documents are subject to a strong presumption of public access, particularly in a class action, and expressed skepticism about some proposed redactions. Valelly also stated that some material appeared to concern general profit-making considerations rather than proprietary methodology.
Ruling
The Court’s order states: “Application GRANTED.” Judge Valerie E. Caproni therefore granted Merrill Lynch’s application to seal or redact the identified materials. The provided opinion text does not separately state the disposition of each listed document or redaction, and it does not decide the parties’ underlying summary-judgment motions or the motion concerning the proposed expert.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.