Goldman Sachs and Bank of America sought to have their documents pertaining to a 2007 lawsuit filed by Overstock.com Inc. remain confidential, but a California state judge denied their request. In this particular case, Overstock, an online retailer, claimed that the banks manipulated its stock from 2005 to 2007, causing its shares to fall.  State Court Judge John Munter dismissed the case on 1/10/12, ruling that the conduct took place outside of California.  Overstock appealed and asked Munter to make public those documents he put under seal. Munter granted Overstock’s request to make public a large chunk of documents, because in his view, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch & Co. "failed to demonstrate an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the records."  He said the transactions are at least 4 years old, and much of the material was discussed at a 1/5/12 hearing.  A Goldman spokesperson declined to comment on the ruling. A spokesman for Bank of America would only say, in an e-mailed statement, that the bank is reviewing the decision. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne was "thrilled" with the judge’s ruling: "I could not imagine that a post-2008 public would be denied access to this evidence, which displays in living color the flaws in our capital markets and in the regulatory structure that governs them.” The case is: Overstock.com v. Morgan Stanley, CGC-07-460147, Superior Court of California, San Francisco.  [Bloomberg, 3/9/12]