DGM Investments, Inc. v. New York Futures Exchange, Inc.

224 F.R.D. 133, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16843, 2004 WL 1885875
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedAugust 23, 2004
DocketNo. 01 Civ. 11602(RWS)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 224 F.R.D. 133 (DGM Investments, Inc. v. New York Futures Exchange, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DGM Investments, Inc. v. New York Futures Exchange, Inc., 224 F.R.D. 133, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16843, 2004 WL 1885875 (S.D.N.Y. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

DGM Investments, Inc. (“DGM”), Triumph-WEF Venture LLC (“Triumph-WEF”), DGM Trading Specialist Fund LLC (“DGM-TSF”), Triumph Futures Fund Ltd. (“TFF”), Triumph Premier Traders Ltd. (“TPT”), Triumph Investment Fund Ltd. (“TIF”), and Triumph-MM Venture Ltd. (“T-MM”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) have moved pursuant to Rule 37(a)(2), Fed.R.Civ. P., for an order compelling certain documentary discovery and deposition testimony from Defendants Board of Trade of the City of New York, Inc. (“NYBOT”), New York Futures Exchange, Inc. (“NYFE”), New York Clearing Corporation (“NYCC”), and the New York Futures Exchange Settlement Committee and its members except for Norman Eisler (the “Settlement Committee”) (collectively, the “NYBOT Defendants”). The motion is granted in part and denied in part for the reasons set forth below.

Prior Proceedings

DGM commenced this action in December 2001, and the NYBOT Defendants moved to [135]*135dismiss the complaint in February 2002. Their motion was granted in an opinion of October 17, 2002. See DGM Investments, Inc. v. New York Futures Exchange, Inc., No. 01 Civ. 11602(RWS), 2002 WL 31356362 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 17, 2002). While the NYBOT Defendants’ motion to dismiss DGM’s complaint was sub judice, other plaintiffs filed a separate action that was stayed, pending a determination of the motion to dismiss. By agreement of the parties, Plaintiffs subsequently consolidated the two actions and an amended consolidated complaint was filed on December 20, 2002. The amended consolidated complaint asserts various common-law and Commodity and Exchange Act (“CEA”) claims related to the alleged manipulation of settlement prices for transactions in options on the P-Tech Futures contract market.1 The NYBOT Defendants are alleged to have concealed this manipulation and to have failed to enforce NYFE rules governing methods used to settle P-Tech option contract prices.

In early 2003 the NYBOT Defendants again moved to dismiss, arguing that the amended consolidated complaint failed to adequately allege bad faith, standing, and fraud. The motion was granted in part and denied in part in an opinion of May 27, 2003, see DGM Investments, Inc. v. New York Futures Exchange, Inc., 265 F.Supp.2d 254 (S.D.N.Y.2003) (the “May 2003 Opinion”), and the NYBOT Defendants’ subsequent motion for reconsideration or interlocutory appeal was denied by an opinion of October 23, 2003. See DGM Investments, Inc. v. New York Futures Exchange, Inc., 288 F.Supp.2d 519 (S.D.N.Y.2003).

The NYBOT Defendants filed an answer to the amended consolidated complaint on November 26, 2003, and on December 22, 2003, Plaintiffs moved to strike certain of the NY-BOT Defendants’ affirmative defenses. By an opinion of March 31, 2004, Plaintiffs’ motion was granted. See DGM Investments, Inc. v. New York Futures Exchange, Inc., No. 01 Civ. 11602(RWS), 2004 WL 635743 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2004).

Plaintiffs filed the instant motion to compel discovery on June 9, 2004. After briefing by the parties, the motion was deemed fully submitted on June 23, 2004.

Discussion

Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(a)(2)(B), Plaintiffs seek to compel the deposition testimony of James Goodwin (“Goodwin”), Senior Vice President, Market Surveillance in charge of the Compliance Department of NYBOT and its subsidiary contract markets, including the NYFE. In an affidavit submitted in support of the NYBOT Defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended consolidated complaint and dated January 17, 2003 (the “Goodwin Affidavit”), Goodwin swore that “[s]ince 2000 I have undertaken a number of investigations and analyses of the trading in the P-Tech that led to the events of May 2000.” (Declaration of Michael A. Lacher, dated June 8, 2004 (“Lacher Decl.”), Exh. A, at ¶ 4.) Plaintiffs contend that the NYBOT Defendants improperly blocked testimony from Goodwin with regard to the substance of these investigations on the basis of privilege during a deposition of Goodwin on February 9, 2004.

Plaintiffs also seek to compel the deposition testimony of Vincent White (“White”), a manager in the compliance department of NYBOT. Goodwin testified at his February 9, 2004 deposition that White was involved in the investigations into the manipulation of P-Tech settlement prices. On May 21, 2004, Plaintiffs requested that the NYBOT Defendants produce White to give deposition testimony relating to the details of the NYBOT investigations relating to the P-Tech market. The NYBOT Defendants have not refused to produce White but have indicated that they will continue to assert privilege and will not permit White to testify regarding the pending disciplinary proceeding.

Finally, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(a)(2)(A), Plaintiffs seek to compel the production of a certain draft Business Conduct Committee Report (the “BCC Report”), any manuals of procedures for the NYBOT compliance and surveillance office, any notes taken by Goodwin relevant to the P-Tech in[136]*136vestigations which were not previously produced, and any other relevant investigatory documents previously withheld.

The NYBOT Defendants argue that the information contained in the BCC Report2 and all information concerning the NYBOT investigation into a potential disciplinary action against one former Exchange Member relating to settlement prices for P-Tech options are privileged under Section 8c(a)(2) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. § 12c(a)(2), and, thus, protected from disclosure. According to the NYBOT Defendants, any compliance manuals in effect during the period August 1999 through May 2000 were destroyed as a result of the events of September 11, 2001, and they assert that the compliance manual currently in place was developed subsequent to the commencement of this action and, therefore, is not relevant. Plaintiffs, in turn, argue that the privilege invoked by the NYBOT Defendants is not applicable here and that, even if the privilege is applicable, the NYBOT Defendants have waived any objection to disclosure by a references to the investigations conducted by Goodwin in the Goodwin Affidavit.

There appears to be some disagreement or confusion among the parties as to what investigation or investigations are at issue here. According to the NYBOT Defendants, the only documents and testimony for which they have asserted a privilege are those relating to a specific investigation and possible disciplinary action against one former Exchange member. They further specify that, with the exception of the BCC Report, Plaintiffs have been afforded full discovery on the issues relevant to this case, including all relevant trading records and all materials forming the basis of the Goodwin Affidavit. Plaintiffs, however, note that Goodwin referred to a “number of investigations” in the Goodwin Affidavit (Lacher Decl., Exh. A, at ¶ 4), and that Goodwin testified that “[s]eparate and apart from the review done specifically to respond to the issues here I can think perhaps of three” investigations relating to PTech settlement prices which have occurred from 2000 to the present. (Id., Exh.

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224 F.R.D. 133, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16843, 2004 WL 1885875, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dgm-investments-inc-v-new-york-futures-exchange-inc-nysd-2004.