The New York Times’ attempt to unseal documents that were filed in the antitrust and counterclaim lawsuits between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund reached a crossroads on Thursday.
In a 10-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman denied parts of The Times’ motion to unseal discovery in the cases and ordered LIV Golf to address each of the requests to unseal within two weeks.
The Times had identified more than 60 documents – including the “Subscription and Shareholder Agreement” between LIV Golf and the PIF – it claimed should be unsealed under the “compelling reason” standard, which is higher than the “good cause” standard which was widely used during the litigation.
On June 16, just 10 days after the Tour and PIF announced a framework agreement that ended all litigation with prejudice, The Times filed its motion to unseal certain documents. Later that same day, the court granted the motion to dismiss the lawsuits. But in Thursday’s order, the court ruled The Times’ motion was timely.
The court also ruled The Times had a right to intervene in the case, but parsed through the various requests to unseal, which primarily focused on discovery from LIV Golf.
During a hearing earlier this month, The Times argued the public’s right to information sealed in the case outweighed LIV Golf and PIF’s claims that public disclosure of certain documents could cause “competitive harm.”
