Fremont Prevails in First Impression Public Records Act Case

In a case of first impression, Skadden secured a significant victory in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for Fremont Investment and Loan in a case brought by a plaintiff’s attorney trying to obtain access to documents produced in a subprime case so he could use them in a federal securities fraud action in California against Fremont’s former officers and directors. The attorney argued that the Massachusetts version of the Freedom of Information Act required that documents produced to the government be made available to him as a member of the public. On April 1, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of Fremont, agreeing with its position that the trial court’s protective order in the subprime case preempted the public’s interest in transparency.