Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker (S.D.N.Y.) issued a ruling on Thursday in Ap-Fonden v. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., a securities fraud litigation stemming from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (“1MDB”) scandal. The case involves investors who are plaintiffs against Defendant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The dispute revolves around the sealing of materials related to Plaintiff’s motion for class certification.
Documents submitted in support of a motion for class certification are considered judicial documents subject to the presumption of public access to court records.
Goldman Sachs seeks to redact names and personal information of current and former employees, as well as unaffiliated entities and individuals, from the submitted materials. The company argues that these individuals were not involved in the alleged wrongdoing of the case and should be protected from disclosure.
While redactions of non-party names and personal details are sometimes permitted, Plaintiffs contest whether these individuals are truly implicated in the 1MDB Fraud. For instance, the name of Lloyd Blankfein, then-chairman of Goldman Sachs, is redacted in the submissions, despite his relevance to the case. Plaintiffs also claim that some of the redacted names include individuals who testified in the trial of Roger Ng, a key figure in the 1MDB fraud.
Goldman’s employees and their positions are not considered confidential information. While personal details like contact information may be private, their employment status during the relevant period is not. Simply alleging that unsealing the documents would be unfair or prejudicial is not sufficient justification for sealing them without specific examples or reasoning.
