But both sides are in a silent period and it sounds like things are very fragile, very delicate.

The case highlights that mass communications to employees about the company's prospects during the quiet period are likely to be viewed by the S.E.C. as impermissible conditioning of the market.

It also included the entirety of CEO Andrew Mason's August memo to employees - a missive that arguably caused the daily deals company to run afoul of quiet period restrictions.