Lines Overseas Management and its managing director Scott Lines have filed to appeal a US District Court?s orders to comply with four administrative subpoenas from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

As such, the US Appeals Court for the DC Circuit has granted an administrative stay of those compliance orders so that it has sufficient opportunity to consider the merits of a LOM and Mr. Lines? motion for stay pending appeal.

The Court of Appeal administrative stay came just one day after US District Court Judge Richard Roberts refused to grant a one-month stay of his order enforcing the subpoenas.

Since first serving the subpoenas on Mr. Lines almost two years ago, the SEC has been trying to force him and LOM to comply with their requests for information including telephone recordings related to its investigation of alleged market manipulation of the securities Sedona Software Solutions Inc. and SHEP Technologies Inc.

While the Bermuda parties argued before a Magistrate Judge and then Judge Roberts that compliance would put them in violation of Bermuda law, it was only last week that they asked the Bermuda Supreme Court to determine whether they are actually entitled to make the requested disclosure. That hearing is now underway before Puisne Justice Geoffrey Bell.

The US Court for Appeals for the DC Circuit said its administrative stay of the orders ?was necessary to give it sufficient opportunity to consider the merits of the motion for stay pending appeal.?

The court noted that the stay should ?not be construed in anyway as a ruling on the merits of that motion.?

The SEC has until January 20 to file its response to the motion for a stay pending appeal with the appellants reply no later than January 24.