Subpoena for financial reporter’s documents in California suit quashed

Roddy Boyd, editor and founder of the investigative reporting outlet Foundation for Financial Journalism, was issued a subpoena on Oct. 11, 2023, for documents in connection with a California wiretap and defamation lawsuit, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

He had first been served a wider-ranging legal order in August 2022. But after it was narrowed, a motion to compel Boyd to comply was set aside on Aug. 7, 2024.

The underlying lawsuit was filed by investor Marc Cohodes in January 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Cohodes alleged in his complaint that the defendants used a private investigator to befriend him on false pretenses, then illegally record his phone calls and later disclose calls, emails and private conversations to damage his reputation.

Boyd had published an article in May 2021 that detailed the investigator’s recording of Cohodes’ calls. In his story, which is no longer available on the news outlet’s website, Boyd admits agreeing to a request by the investigator, who had falsely represented himself, to introduce him to Cohodes in 2016.

On Aug. 23, 2022, Cohodes filed a subpoena seeking all documents in Boyd’s possession, including communications, concerning the investigator, the other defendants and Cohodes.

Boyd objected to that subpoena on Aug. 30, 2022, arguing that he is protected by the First Amendment and the reporter’s privilege from turning over the documents. He also objected that the subpoena was overly broad and vague, and that it sought to obtain materials available elsewhere.

A narrowed subpoena was reissued on Oct. 11, 2023, seeking communications between Boyd and the investigator, as well as Boyd’s documents related to the investigator’s recording of Cohodes’ communications and the May 2021 article.

Boyd filed another objection on Oct. 23, asserting that his activities are protected by the First Amendment, the reporter’s privilege and the shield law of North Carolina, where he is based. He also argued that the subpoena would impose undue time and expense burdens, and that the documents are available from other sources.

Cohodes filed a motion to compel Boyd to comply with the subpoena on Jan. 16, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He argued that the materials related to the introduction of the investigator to Cohodes were not related to newsgathering, and that the remaining documents should be produced because there is a compelling need for them, they are relevant to the case and they cannot be obtained elsewhere.

On Jan. 30, Boyd asked the court to deny that motion, which Magistrate Judge Kimberly Swank did on Aug. 7, 2024.

Boyd welcomed the ruling in a social media post. He did not respond to a request for further comment.