Ark. Teacher Ret. Sys. v. State St. Bank & Trust Co.
Ark. Teacher Ret. Sys. v. State St. Bank & Trust Co.
Opinion of the Court
WOLF, D.J.
On March 8, 2017, the court appointed Retired United States District Judge Gerald Rosen as a Master to investigate and submit a Report and Recommendation concerning issues relating to the court's award of more than $75,000,000 in attorneys' fees in this Class Action to counsel for the plaintiff class (the "Lawyers"). In its October 24, 2017 Order, the court wrote:
The Master has informed the court that he has entered a limited protective order concerning the confidentiality of certain information he has received in discovery and informed the [Lawyers] that an opportunity would be provided for them to propose redactions to the Report and Recommendation which will be filed for the public record. In view of the foregoing, the court is modifying the March 8, 2017 Order to provide that: the Master shall file his Report and Recommendation with the court under seal; the court will provide the Report and Recommendation to the [Lawyers], under seal; and the court will establish schedules for proposed redactions and objections.
Docket No. 208 at 3. The March 29, 2017 Limited Protective Order in its most pertinent part provides that the production of documents requested by the Master would not constitute a waiver of any attorney-client privilege or any other privilege. See Docket No. 191, ¶1.
On May 14, 2018, the Master filed his Report and Recommendation, an Executive Summary of it, and referenced exhibits in both printed and electronic form.
*169Pursuant to the October 24, 2017 Order, the court has temporarily sealed those submissions to provide the Lawyers an opportunity to review them and propose redactions. The court intends to decide whether any proposed redactions are justified. The court may, however, refer any redaction issues to the Master for a Report and Recommendation. The court may also, instead, ask the Master, or his counsel, to respond to any questionable requests for redactions.
In proposing redactions, the Lawyers shall bear in mind that:
In Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc.,435 U.S. 589 ,98 S.Ct. 1306 ,55 L.Ed.2d 570 (1978), the Supreme Court acknowledged that "the courts of this country recognize a general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents."Id. at 597 ,98 S.Ct. 1306 (footnotes omitted). The privilege extends, in the first instance, to "materials on which a court relies in determining the litigants' substantive rights." Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc.,805 F.2d 1 , 13 (1st Cir. 1986).
F.T.C. v. Standard Fin. Mgmt. Corp.,
A properly invoked attorney-client privilege may be sufficient to overcome the presumption of public access to information which is contained in judicial records. See Siedle,
The burden of proving that presumptively public judicial records should be sealed is on the party objecting to public disclosure. See Standard Fin. Mgmt. Corp.,
In view of the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED that:
1. The Lawyers shall obtain forthwith from Elizabeth McEvoy, Esq., counsel for the Master, electronic versions of Executive Summary, the Report and Recommendation, and the exhibits referenced in them.
2. The Lawyers shall, by May 31, 2018, file, under seal, any motion for redactions, with documents reflecting the proposed redactions, and supporting affidavits and memoranda in the manner described in this Memorandum. Copies of these submissions shall be served on the Master. Redacted versions of these submissions shall be filed for the public record.
3. After the court decides which, if any, redactions are appropriate, it will provide the Lawyers an opportunity to propose redactions to the rest of the record that are consistent with the court's rulings.
4. Any objections to the Report and Recommendation, or any requests to adopt or modify it, shall be filed no later than seven days after the court rules on the proposed redactions.
On March 8, 2017, the court ordered the Master to file the complete record concerning his investigation with his Report and Recommendation. See Docket No. 73, 511. On March 1, 2018, the court ordered that the record be filed under seal to permit possible redactions. See Docket No. 216 at 2. The Master has informed the court that it will take several more weeks to compile the record for filing. In addition, it has not yet been determined whether it is feasible and cost-effective to have the record converted into a searchable electronic form as previously ordered.
As permitted by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53(f)(2), this Order provides the Lawyers more than the 21 days following the receipt of the Master's Report and Recommendation to object, or move to adopt or modify, provided by the Rule.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- ARKANSAS TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM, on behalf of itself and all others similarly situated v. STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY, Arnold Henriquez, Michael T. Cohn, William R. Taylor, Richard A. Sutherland, and those similarly situated v. State Street Bank and Trust Company, The Andover Companies Employee Savings and Profit Sharing Plan, on behalf of itself, and James Pehoushek-Stangeland and all others similarly situated v. State Street Bank and Trust Company
- Status
- Published