New York shield law protects media in MLB suit

Major League Baseball filed a complaint against an insurance company to find out who leaked confidential financial information to the Associated Press and Deadspin.com, but did not include the news organizations in the filing.

New York's shield law includes absolute protection for journalists' confidential sources, leaving the league without an option to pursue the two organizations that published the financial records of six baseball franchises in August of last year.

Instead, in a motion filed Oct. 7 in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, the MLB is trying to force Connecticut-based Beazley Insurance Company, Inc. to explain "why they should not produce all records" necessary for the league to determine who disclosed the information.

According to the filing, four brokers and 20 insurers were sent the teams' applications for director and officer liability insurance. Of the 24 entities, only six of the insurers, including Beazley, received all of the financial information later published by the Associated Press and Deadspin, a sports website.

MLB claims an independent investigator conducted an internal review and found that "no breach of security or improper disclosure of confidential financial information at issue by MLB's employees." The league requested that each of the six insurers conduct its own investigation.

According to the filing, all the insurance companies complied --- except Beazley.

In its investigation, the league used metadata -- electronic "fingerprints" that can trace how information was accessed and transferred -- that was embedded in the financial records turned in by the Texas Rangers to the insurance companies. In its filing, the league also contends that Beazley was the only insurer that failed to provide the requested metadata.

In addition to the Rangers, the other teams whose financial records were disclosed are: Pittsburgh Pirates; Tampa Bay Rays; Florida Marlins; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Seattle Mariners. The league alleges that the "publication of the financial statements is detrimental to MLB, to the teams within its organizational structure and specifically to the subject clubs."

According to the Associated Press, Beazley spokeswoman Kimberly Baldoni said the company "has cooperated with Major League Baseball. We conducted an internal investigation, which yielded no evidence that the company or our employees were responsible for the leak. The petition filed has no merit."