Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
The Seminole Tribe of Florida is calling on a federal judge to block the release of records dealing with a gambling trial.
Attorneys for the tribe filed an emergency motion this week asking a federal judge to seal the deposition of James F. Allen, the president and CEO of the company that runs the Seminole casinos in Florida. The statement was turned over to POLITICO Florida in response to a public records request.
The motion calls on the court to “seal all deposition transcripts in the hands of any person until the tribe has had a reasonable opportunity” to review the transcripts and determine whether they contain trade secrets. The motion also calls on the court to block publication of the information.
According to the motion, the tribe and the state “agreed to reasonable confidentiality provisions to expedite the flow of discovery material, promote the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality, and facilitate the preservation of material deemed worthy of protection.”
Both parties agreed the tribe would have the opportunity to review the transcripts to designate portions of the transcript that are considered to be trade secrets, according to the motion. However, the tribe said “an unredacted copy of at least one copy that contains trade secret information” was inadvertently released. Attorneys for the tribe stated they were not provided the opportunity to designate portions as “trade secrets or otherwise confidential.”
“The terms are clear and precisely drawn,” wrote attorneys for the tribe. “Good cause exists for entering an order permitting the parties to honor the provisions of the confidentiality stipulation because allowing third parties to receive pretrial discovery materials prior to the tribe’s review and redaction of trade secret or confidential information will do nothing to advance the litigation, and would likely cause the tribe annoyance, embarrassment, and oppression.”
The state and the tribe are locked in a dispute over whether the Seminoles casinos can continue to have blackjack tables. The tribe filed the lawsuit last year after principal portions of a five-year gambling deal with the state expired.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
