Court Orders Madoff Ponzi Scheme Documents Turned Over to European Court

  • December 12, 2014

In a matter of first impression in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel successfully obtained materials concerning the Bernard Madoff Ponzi Scheme for use in a Swiss criminal proceeding. The Court held that the materials sought were appropriately subject to disclosure under 28 U.S.C. § 1782, a statute that permits discovery in the United States for use in foreign or international proceedings. Rejecting arguments that the Swiss proceeding was not a “foreign or international tribunal” as that term is defined in the statute, the Court held that the Swiss proceeding is “exactly the type of proceeding” that the statute is intended to reach. ECBAWM attorneys O. Andrew F. Wilson and Sam Shapiro litigated the case on behalf of a Swiss national.