Overstock.com, Inc. v. Goldman Sachs Grp., Inc.

Overstock.Com alleged that defendants intentionally depressed the price of Overstock stock by effecting “naked” short sales: sales of shares the brokerage houses and their clients never actually owned or borrowed to artificially increase the supply and short sales of the stock. The parties’ discovery demands were extensive, and, pursuant to a stipulation, the trial court issued a protective order that allowed the parties to designate Protected Material, and to further classify it as “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential.” The order required the parties to exercise good faith to restrict submissions to Confidential Information reasonably necessary for deliberations. Two years later, the court extended the order to confidential information pertaining to third parties. In 2011, the court allowed plaintiffs to propose a Fifth Amended Complaint. The publicly filed document and opposing documents were heavily redacted; un-redacted versions were conditionally lodged under seal. Defendants made10 motions to seal. Plaintiffs opposed five. The media also opposed sealing. The court then denied leave to file the proposed Fifth Amended Complaint, granted the motions to seal, and entered summary judgment for the defendants. The appeals court affirmed most of the sealing decisions, with exceptions for “irrelevant materials” that never should have burdened the court.View "Overstock.com, Inc. v. Goldman Sachs Grp., Inc." on Justia Law