Federal Deposit Insurance v. Ernst & Ernst

This is an appeal from Judge Weinstein’s order denying the motion of Jon Brown and the Public Interest Research Group (“PIRG”) to modify a stipulation and order requiring, inter alia, confidentiality of the terms of the settlement reached between the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and Ernst & Ernst, an accounting firm.1 Since we agree that the standards of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552 (1976), do not govern the district court’s protective order, we affirm essentially for the reasons stated in Judge Weinstein’s thorough opinion. Because of the novel…