Federal Reserve's Motion for Leave to File Restricted Document — Accountant Privilege (D.E. 251) — OTO Analytics v. Benworth

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico · No. 3:23-cv-01034-GMM · Doc. 251 · 2025-05-28 · Docket on CourtListener

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO 
 
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN 
FRANCISCO,  
 
Plaintiff, 
 
v. 
 
BENWORTH CAPITAL PARTNERS 
PR, 
LLC; 
BENWORTH 
CAPITAL 
PARTNERS, 
LLC; 
BERNARDO 
NAVARRO and CLAUDIA NAVARRO, 
 
Defendants. 
Civil No. 23-01034 (GMM) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE RESTRICTED DOCUMENT 
 
TO THE HONORABLE COURT: 
 
 
COMES NOW Plaintiff Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (the “Reserve Bank”), by 
and through its undersigned legal counsel, and respectfully states and prays as follows:  
1. 
On October 7, 2024, this Court issued a Protective Order which requires the filing 
under seal of Protected Material to prevent public access.1  See ECF No. 176 ¶ 6.2(c) 
2. 
Today, the Reserve Bank filed under seal its motion captioned Plaintiff-Intervenor 
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Motion to Compel Documents and Communications 
Over Which Defendants Improperly Assert Accountant-Client Privilege (the “Motion to Compel”), 
seeking an order from this Court that Defendants Benworth Capital Partners, LLC, Benworth 
Capital Partners PR, LLC, Bernardo Navarro, Claudia Navarro (collectively, “Defendants”) 
and third-party subpoena recipients (i) Forvis Mazars, LLP (“Forvis”), (ii) Kaufman Rossin & Co. 
(“Kaufman”), (iii) Sotolongo & Associates, P.A. (“Sotolongo”), and (iv) Up Consulting 
 
1  
Protected Material is defined, generally, as material produced during discovery and designated as 
“Confidential” or “Highly Confidential.”  See ECF No. 176 ¶ 1.13. 
Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM     Document 251     Filed 05/28/25     Page 1 of 4

 
 
2 
Group LLC (“Up Consulting” and together with Forvis, Kaufman and Sotolongo, the “Third-Party 
Firms”) produce (i) all documents and communications in the Defendants’ possession related 
to any transfer pricing study prepared by the Third-Party Firms for Defendants that are 
responsive to certain of the Federal Reserve’s requests for production dated August 23, 2024 
and (ii) all documents and communications in the possession of the Third-Party Firms responsive 
to Request No. 2 of the Subpoena to Produce Documents, Information, or Objects or to 
Permit Inspection of Premises in a Civil Action received by each of the Third-Party Firms 
dated March 7, 2025.  See ECF No. 250.  
3. 
Certain documents attached to the Motion to Compel contain information that has 
been designated as Confidential pursuant to the Protective Order.  This information is known only 
to the Parties and is not publicly available.  Accordingly, the Reserve Bank has filed the Motion 
to Compel on a restricted basis to safeguard the confidentiality of this information. 
4. 
In light of the foregoing, and pursuant to this Court’s Standing Order No. 9 dated 
January 30, 2013, as well as the Protective Order entered at ECF No. 176, the Reserve Bank has 
filed the Motion to Compel and its accompanying exhibits as restricted documents.  As such, they 
are accessible only to the Parties to this action.  
WHEREFORE, the Reserve Bank respectfully requests that this Court grant leave to 
maintain the Motion to Compel and its exhibits as restricted documents. 
Respectfully submitted in San Juan, Puerto Rico on May 28, 2025. 
 
 
Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM     Document 251     Filed 05/28/25     Page 2 of 4

 
 
3 
Thomas S. Kessler (admitted pro hac vice) 
tkessler@cgsh.com 
 
CLEARY GOTTLIEB STEEN & 
HAMILTON LLP 
One Liberty Plaza 
New York, New York 10006 
Telephone: (212) 225-2000 
Facsimile: (212) 225-3999 
Attorneys for the Federal Reserve Bank of 
San Francisco  
 
 
s/ Antonio L. Roig Lorenzo  
Antonio L. Roig Lorenzo  
antonio.roig@oneillborges.com 
USDC-PR No. 207712 
 
s/ Salvador J. Antonetti Stutts  
Salvador J. Antonetti Stutts  
salvador.antonetti@oneillborges.com 
USDC-PR No. 215002 
 
s/ Ubaldo M. Fernández Barrera 
Ubaldo M. Fernández Barrera 
ubaldo.fernandez@oneillborges.com 
USDC-PR No. 224807 
 
s/ Aníbal A. Román Medina  
Aníbal A. Román Medina  
anibal.roman@oneillborges.com 
USDC-PR No. 308410 
 
O’NEILL & BORGES LLC 
250 Muñoz Rivera Ave., Ste. 800 
San Juan, PR 00918-1813 
Tel: (787) 764-8181 
Fax: (787) 753-8944 
Attorneys for the Federal Reserve Bank of 
San Francisco 
 
 
 
Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM     Document 251     Filed 05/28/25     Page 3 of 4

 
 
4 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
 
 
I certify that on May 28, 2025, I filed a copy of the foregoing document using the Court’s 
CM/ECF system, which will automatically generate a Notice of Electronic Filing to all counsel of 
record in this matter. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
s/ Ubaldo M. Fernández Barrera 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ubaldo M. Fernández Barrera 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM     Document 251     Filed 05/28/25     Page 4 of 4

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