Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzales has dismissed a request to unseal a report many believe may have information tying the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and chairman Sheldon Adelson to organized crime in Asia. The motion to unseal the private investigator’s report had been submitted during the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by former Sands China CEO Steven Jacobs, and originated from three groups including the nonprofit group The Campaign for Accountability.
Attorney for Sands China Randall Jones effectively argued that a final decision about the report shouldn’t be made until after the Nevada Supreme Court decides on the company’s appeal regarding jurisdiction. The report was originally admitted as an exhibit as part Steven Jacobs’ defense during the proceeding deciding Las Vegas had the jurisdiction rather than Macau, China.
Gonzales stated that the law allowed her to seal documents that include commercially sensitive material, and that the exhibit should remain sealed as it was not being used to argue the merits of the case.
The judge suggested that the groups could request to unseal the records when the case reaches trial, currently scheduled for October. However, that date could be postponed until the end of next year so that Las Vegas Sands attorneys could finish their discovery processes including digging into Jacob’s medical history.