🦋⚖️
$MMAT /
$MMTLP — Meta Materials Inc.
⚖️ U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada
📄 ORDER ON MOTION TO QUASH
📅 Filed: May 27, 2026
⚠️NLA
🚨 BIG PICTURE — WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
Judge Gary Spraker just issued a MAJOR ruling against:
🏢 Citadel Securities
🏢 Virtu Financial
🏢 Anson Funds
These firms tried to QUASH (block) the bankruptcy trustee’s subpoenas seeking trading data tied to:
📈
$MMAT
📈
$TRCH
📈
$MMTLP
The Judge said:
❌ The subpoenas are NOT being fully thrown out.
✅ The trustee CAN obtain important trading records.
⚠️ BUT there will be strict protective-order limitations.
⸻
🧠 LAYMAN’S TERMS
The trustee believes there MAY have been market manipulation or wrongful conduct connected to Meta Materials trading activity.
The trustee is trying to determine:
🔍 Was trading activity harming the company?
🔍 Did it impact fundraising?
🔍 Did it damage the bankruptcy estate?
🔍 Are there potential legal claims worth pursuing before statutes expire?
The Judge basically said:
“The trustee has the right to investigate.” ⚖️
⸻
📌 THE COURT EMPHASIZED RULE 2004 IS VERY BROAD
The Court repeated that Rule 2004 examinations are basically:
🎣 “Fishing expeditions”
📂 Broad investigative tools
🔎 Used to uncover wrongdoing or estate assets
The Judge cited multiple cases saying trustees can investigate third parties to determine whether wrongdoing occurred.
⸻
🚨 HUGE PART — THE COURT ACCEPTED THE TRUSTEE’S THEORY ENOUGH TO ALLOW DISCOVERY
The trustee identified:
📊 11 separate “events”
where Meta or Torchlight allegedly:
💰 Sold treasury shares
📉 Issued dilution
📈 Raised capital
📄 Issued warrants/acquisition stock
during periods where the trustee claims trading manipulation may have affected pricing.
The Non-Parties argued:
❌ “Meta wasn’t actually selling into the manipulated market.”
❌ “The trustee lacks standing.”
❌ “This is too speculative.”
Judge Spraker was NOT persuaded enough to stop discovery. 👀
⸻
⚠️ VERY IMPORTANT — THE JUDGE DREW A LINE
The Court said:
🛑 This is NOT the stage where the Court decides whether Citadel/Virtu/Anson actually committed wrongdoing.
Instead:
✅ The trustee only needs enough justification to INVESTIGATE whether viable claims might exist.
That distinction matters A LOT.
⸻
👀 THE JUDGE ALSO SHOWED SOME CONCERN
This part is important.
The Court acknowledged concerns that:
⚠️ The trustee’s special counsel is involved in OTHER securities litigation against Citadel and Virtu.
⚠️ Rule 2004 discovery cannot simply become a shortcut for outside litigation.
⚠️ Discovery should benefit the bankruptcy estate — not unrelated lawsuits.
So the Judge imposed guardrails.
⸻
🔒 PROTECTIVE ORDER INCOMING
The Court ordered the parties to negotiate a STRICT protective order.
That order must:
🔒 Limit use of produced data -THIS bankruptcy
🔒 Limit use to trustee-related litigation
🔒 Restrict dissemination of data
🔒 Restrict access to trustee approved professionals only
🚨 RESPONSE DEADLINE:
📅 June 18, 2026 — Protective order must be submitted to the Court.
⸻
🚨 BIGGEST DEADLINE OF ALL
📅 JUNE 25, 2026
The Judge ordered Citadel, Virtu, and Anson to PRODUCE:
📊 Market-wide trading data
📈 For the 161-day schedule identified by the trustee
📂 Under the Rule 45 subpoenas
unless modified by the protective order.
That is the MAJOR headline here. 🚨🚨
⚖️ WHAT THIS MEANS PRACTICALLY
The trustee now gains access to a significant amount of trading data that the Court believes may help determine:
🧩 Whether viable claims exist
🧩 Whether wrongdoing occurred
🧩 Whether the estate suffered damages
🧩 Whether litigation should be filed before limitation deadlines
This does NOT mean:
❌ Anyone has been found liable
❌ Manipulation has been proven
❌ The trustee automatically wins anything
BUT…
✅ The investigation survived.
✅ Discovery survived.
✅ The Court largely sided with allowing investigation over shutting it down.
SIGNIFICANT legal victory for the trustee!