Judge issues mixed ruling on Shkreli attorney communications

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should avoid reviewing communications between Martin Shkreli and his attorneys, but these are not protected under the Privacy Act, a New York federal judge has ruled.

The FTC  obtained the recordings from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) as part of its antitrust case against Skhreli and Vyera Pharmaceuticals at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Shkreli argued that these communications were protected by attorney-client confidentiality, under the Privacy Act. The former pharmaceutical boss claimed the collection of the documents was a violation of his statutory rights. The FTC subsequently asked the court to rule that the communications were not privileged.

In a brief order issued yesterday, August 20, District Judge Denise Cote said the FTC should “make reasonable efforts to screen from review communications between Shkreli and the identified attorneys”.

But Cote also rejected Shkreli’s argument that the FTC was precluded from accessing the documents by the Privacy Act.

“Should Shkreli conclude that he has a claim for violation of the Privacy Act, his recourse is to file a separate lawsuit against the BOP,” the judge wrote.

Shkreli and Vyera Pharmaceuticals are accused of  monopolising the market for lifesaving anti-parasitic drug Daraprim.

The FTC argued that Shkreli waived his attorney-client privilege because he knew the BOP was monitoring his calls and emails.

“A phone call that a ‘prisoner knows is being recorded by prison authorities’ is not privileged because that communication is “not made in confidence and thus constitute[s] a waiver of the privilege,” the FTC told the court.

Shkreli is currently serving a seven year prison sentence for unrelated securities fraud offences.

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