Securities and Exchange Commission v. Virtu Financial Inc.

Background

Virtu Financial, Inc. and Virtu Americas LLC asked the court for permission to file four exhibits under seal in support of their motion to dismiss the Securities and Exchange Commission’s complaint. The defendants described the exhibits as containing non-public, proprietary, and commercially sensitive information from Virtu’s internal policies and training manuals. They also said the exhibits contained information about Virtu’s information-security practices. The Securities and Exchange Commission consented to the request.

Request to Seal

The filing relied on the presumption that judicial documents should generally be publicly accessible, while arguing that confidential business information may justify restricting access. The defendants stated that public disclosure could place Virtu at a competitive disadvantage and reveal confidential information about its business operations and security practices.

The defendants also argued that the request was narrowly tailored. They were not seeking to redact references and quotations from the exhibits that appeared in the complaint and motion-to-dismiss briefing. They said most of the information in the exhibits was not relevant to the claims or the motion and had little or no public interest in disclosure.

Ruling

Judge John G. Koeltl granted the application and permitted the defendants to file the four exhibits under seal. The text provided does not include a merits ruling on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s claims or on the defendants’ motion to dismiss.