MF Global Holdings Ltd. v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

232 F. Supp. 3d 558, 96 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1266, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26534, 2017 WL 663565
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 3, 2017
Docket14-cv-2197
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 232 F. Supp. 3d 558 (MF Global Holdings Ltd. v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP) 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
MF Global Holdings Ltd. v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 232 F. Supp. 3d 558, 96 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1266, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26534, 2017 WL 663565 (S.D.N.Y. 2017).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

VICTOR MARRERO, United States District Judge.

The Court has received motions in limine pertaining to the trial in the [566]*566matter of MF Global Holdings Ltd., as Plan Administrator v. Pricewaterhouse-Coopers LLP. As a preliminary matter, the Court notes that several of the in limine motions the parties have brought reflect inappropriate use of such motions. The purpose of in limine motions is to enable the Court to rule on disputes over the admissibility of discrete items of evidence. See TVT Records v. Island Def Jam Music Grp., 250 F.Supp.2d 341, 344 (S.D.N.Y. 2003); United States v. Chan, 184 F.Supp.2d 337, 340 (S.D.N.Y. 2002). Here, as demonstrated by the discussion below, the parties seek to employ their in limine motions as preemptive weapons with which they endeavor to strike, in shotgun fashion, at whole topics and sources of prospective evidence that each side anticipates the other may contemplate introducing at some point during the course of the trial, out of context and before any specific objection against its proper backdrop is raised.

Ten motions in limine were filed by plaintiff MF Global Holdings, as Plan Administrator (the “Plan Administrator”). A summary of the Plan Administrator’s requests and the Court’s rulings thereon follow.

The Plan Administrator requests that the Court:

(1) exclude evidence and argument concerning segregated customer funds: DENIED
(2) exclude evidence or argument regarding the MF Global post-bankruptcy litigation: GRANTED
(3) exclude the trustee reports: GRANTED
(4) preclude defendant from inquiring about certain communications with the general counsel: GRANTED in part
(5) exclude certain exhibits and to limit references to current or former claim holders: GRANTED
(6) preclude defendant from calling Richard Katz live at trial: GRANTED in part
(7) exclude evidence and argument concerning the statute of limitations: GRANTED
(8) preclude defendant from offering cumulative expert testimony by Sandra Johnigan and Timothy S. Lucas: GRANTED in part
(9) preclude certain expert testimony by Christopher Culp: DENIED
(10) preclude testimony from Christopher Culp pertaining to his supplemental report: GRANTED

Defendant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) filed twelve motions in lb mine. A summary of PwC’s requests and the Court’s rulings thereon follow. PwC requests that the Court:

(1) preclude any suggestion that plaintiff is operating on behalf of third parties or the bankruptcy court: GRANTED
(2) preclude plaintiff from playing video testimony for witnesses who will testify in person and permit PwC to conduct full examinations of witnesses who testify during plaintiffs ease-in-chief: GRANTED in part
(3) preclude evidence or argument concerning new theories of malpractice: GRANTED
(4) exclude, in part, the opinion of Lynn Turner: DENIED
(5) exclude certain testimony of Paul Michaud, David Mordecai, and Christine Pallone: GRANTED in part
[567]*567(6) exclude the testimony and opinion of Plaintiff’s damages expert Guy Davis: DENIED
(7) preclude evidence or argument regarding MF Global’s deferred tax asset: DENIED
(8) preclude evidence or argument that PwC violated Auditing Standard No. 3: DENIED
(9) preclude evidence or argument that PwC’s internal guidance sets the standard of care: GRANTED
(10) exclude evidence or argument concerning other accounting firms, clients, or audits: GRANTED
(11) exclude evidence or argument concerning PwC’s financial information: GRANTED
(12) exclude evidence or argument concerning prior settlements: GRANTED

In the following discussion, each of the motions is addressed in turn, beginning with the Plan Administrator’s motions.

I. SEGREGATED CUSTOMER FUNDS

The Plan Administrator seeks to preclude any evidence regarding the improper transfer of segregated customer funds, which resulted in a significant shortfall in those funds discovered in October 2011. The Plan Administrator asserts that this information is irrelevant and therefore inadmissible under Rule 402 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (“Rule 402”), as MF Global was already planning to file for bankruptcy before the shortfall was discovered. Plan Administrator further asserts that this evidence would be prejudicial and misleading and would serve to confuse the jury, and is therefore inadmissible under Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (“Rule 403”).

PwC counters that evidence regarding the misuse of customer segregated funds is a central issue to the case and bears upon causation, comparative fault, and damages. Furthermore, PwC argues, the Plan Administrator has not established that evidence of the misuse of customer segregated funds would be unduly prejudicial or confuse the jury.

Rule 402 provides that relevant evidence is generally admissible, and Rule 403 provides that evidence that is relevant may nonetheless be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by, among other considerations, the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion, or the possibility of misleading the jury. Fed. R. Evid. 402, 403. It would be difficult to discuss the collapse of MF Global without touching upon the misuse of customer funds, and tasking PwC with doing so would undoubtedly prejudice them. The Court is persuaded that evidence regarding the shortfall in segregated customer funds, while not a basis for the claims against PwC, is relevant to the central elements of the case— how and why MF Global collapsed—and sufficiently probative to outweigh any prejudice to the Plan Administrator. Accordingly, the Plan Administrator’s motion to exclude evidence regarding the misuse of segregated customer funds is DENIED.

II. POST-BANKRUPTCY LITIGATION

The Plan Administrator also moves to exclude all evidence regarding other post-bankruptcy, civil litigation concerning the MF Global bankruptcy, including Free v. Corzine (In re MF Glob. Holdings Ltd.) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Apr. 22, 2013) (“Corzine Action”). The Plan Administrator asserts that such evidence is irrelevant, unduly prejudicial, hearsay, and will mislead and confuse the jury. PwC responds that, as MF Global is the real party-in-[568]*568interest in both this case and the Corzine Action, the Plan Administrator is bound by statements made in that case.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
232 F. Supp. 3d 558, 96 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1266, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26534, 2017 WL 663565, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mf-global-holdings-ltd-v-pricewaterhousecoopers-llp-nysd-2017.