LegalZoom.com Inc v. Rocket Lawyer Incorporated

Filing 20

INITIAL DISCLOSURE Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(A)(1) filed by Plaintiff LegalZoom.com Inc, Counter Defendant LegalZoom.com Inc (Heather, Fred)

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PATRICIA L. GLASER - State Bar No. 55668
[e-mail]
FRED D. HEATHER - State Bar No. 110650
[e-mail]
MARY ANN T. NGUYEN – State Bar No. 269099
[e-mail]
GLASER WEIL FINK JACOBS
HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP
10250 Constellation Boulevard, 19th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90067
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiff
LegalZoom.com, Inc.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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WESTERN DIVISION

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LEGALZOOM.COM, INC., a Delaware
corporation

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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ROCKET LAWYER INCORPORATED,
a Delaware corporation

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Defendant.

CASE NO.: CV 12-9942-GAF (AGRx)
Hon. Gary A. Feess
LEGALZOOM.COM, INC.’S
INITIAL DISCLOSURES
PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P.
26(A)(1)
Original Complaint Filed: November
20, 2012

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LEGALZOOM.COM, INC.’S INITIAL DISCLOSURES PURSUANT FED. R. CIV. P. 26(A)(1)
793593

Pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff

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LegalZoom.com, Inc. (“LegalZoom” or “Plaintiff”), by and through its undersigned

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counsel, hereby make the following Initial Disclosures:

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I.

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
These Initial Disclosures represent the product of LegalZoom’s investigation to

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date. Further investigation and discovery may bring light to additional information

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that may have a bearing on LegalZoom’s claims and defenses in this matter. These

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Initial Disclosures are subject to supplementation. In addition, because the parties

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may further assert, clarify, modify or otherwise develop their theories during the

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course of this lawsuit, LegalZoom reserves the right, at any time in this litigation, to

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identify additional witnesses. LegalZoom’s disclosures are made without waiving, in

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any respect, the right to object the use of any such information, for any purpose, in

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whole or in part, in any subsequent state or proceeding in this action or any other

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action, or any other discovery proceeding involving or relating to the subject matter of

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these disclosures, on the grounds of competency, privilege, relevance, materiality,

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hearsay, or any other proper ground.

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The following disclosures are made based on the information reasonably

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available to LegalZoom as of the date of these disclosures and represent LegalZoom’s

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good faith effort to identify information pertaining to the allegations in this litigation.

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LegalZoom anticipates that further investigation, research and analysis will supply

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additional facts and documents and add meaning to known facts, all of which may in

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turn lead to substantial additions or changes to these disclosures.

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LegalZoom reserves the right to supplement and/or amend its disclosures

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before trial based upon continuing investigation, if appropriate. All of the disclosures

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set forth below are made subject to the above comments and qualifications.

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II.

INDIVIDUALS LIKELY TO HAVE DISCOVERABLE INFORMATION

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(RULE 26(a)(1)(A)(i))

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Based upon information reasonably available to LegalZoom at this time,
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LEGALZOOM.COM, INC.’S INITIAL DISCLOSURES PURSUANT FED. R. CIV. P. 26(A)(1)

793593

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LegalZoom hereby identifies the following individuals who are likely to have

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discoverable information that LegalZoom may use to support its claims or defenses in

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this action, excluding individuals who are to be used solely for the purposes of

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impeachment.
A.

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The following current chairman of the board and employees of

LegalZoom:

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i.

Brian Liu

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ii.

Dorian Quispe

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iii.

Scott MacDonnell

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iv.

Eddie Hartman

These individuals are the current chairman of the board or employees of

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LegalZoom and should not be contacted except through counsel for LegalZoom:

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Patricia L. Glaser and Fred D. Heather, Glaser Weil Fink Jacobs Howard Avchen &

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Shapiro LLP, 10250 Constellation Boulevard, 19th Floor, Los Angeles, California

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90067, [phone]. The aforementioned individuals are knowledgeable and are

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expected to have information regarding LegalZoom’s marketing, advertisements and

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promotions as well as LegalZoom’s business operations.

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B.

The following principal of DocRun: Jennifer Reuting.

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Ms. Reuting is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of DocRun. Ms.

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Reuting is knowledgeable and is expected to have information regarding Rocket

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Lawyer’s entity formation and registered agent service practices. DocRun is located

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at 1408 3rd St. Promenade, 3rd Floor, Santa Monica, California 90401, (310) 751-

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7583.

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In addition to the above-identified individuals, LegalZoom may also rely on

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additional witnesses to prove its claims and defenses, and to rebut Defendant Rocket

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Lawyer Incorporated’s (“Rocket Lawyer”) claims. Discovery, investigation and

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analysis of these matters are incomplete at this stage in the action, and future

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developments may impact the identification of witnesses.
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LEGALZOOM.COM, INC.’S INITIAL DISCLOSURES PURSUANT FED. R. CIV. P. 26(A)(1)

793593

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LegalZoom reserves the right to supplement this disclosure when or if

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additional information becomes known and to later designate and/or call additional

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witnesses at trial.

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III.

DESCRIPTION OF CATEGORY AND LOCATION OF ALL DOCUMENTS,

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ELECTRONICALLY STORED INFORMATION, AND TANGIBLE

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THINGS (RULE 26(a)(1)(A)(ii))

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Based on the information reasonably available to LegalZoom at this time,

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LegalZoom hereby describes the documents, data compilations, and tangible things in

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the possession, custody, or control of LegalZoom or its retained counsel, which may

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be relevant to the claim or defense of any party, excluding such documents, data

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compilations, and tangible things that may be used solely for impeachment:

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a.

LegalZoom’s trademarks and file history;

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b.

Communications and other documents related to RocketLawyer’s use of

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LegalZoom’s trademarks as search terms to trigger Rocket Lawyer’s advertisements;
c.

Communications and other documents related to Rocket Lawyer’s

advertisements using the term “free”;
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Communications and other documents related to Rocket Lawyer’s

negative option program.
e.

Rocket Lawyer’s registration of the domain names

www.legalzoomer.com and www.legalzoomgadget.com;
f.

Legalspring.com’s disclosure related to its affiliate relationships with

third party sites reviewed on its site; and

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g.

Documents produced by any party to this litigation.

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LegalZoom reserves the right to supplement this list of categories of documents

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that it may use to support its claims or defenses. In addition to documents within the

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above-identified categories, LegalZoom may use any additional documents obtained

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through further discovery and investigation, and any documents identified by Rocket

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Lawyer. LegalZoom may also use additional documents not identified in the present
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LEGALZOOM.COM, INC.’S INITIAL DISCLOSURES PURSUANT FED. R. CIV. P. 26(A)(1)

793593

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disclosure for the purpose of impeachment.

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IV.

STATEMENT OF DAMAGES (RULE 26(a)(1)(A)(iii)
LegalZoom is currently unaware of the total amount of damages as it has not

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yet received any discovery in this case. LegalZoom seeks damages adequate to

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compensate it for Rocket Lawyer’s misconduct, including its actual damages, Rocket

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Lawyer’s profits, treble and punitive damages, as well as its attorneys’ fees and costs,

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in an amount to be ascertained pursuant to applicable laws, including without

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limitation, 15 U.S.C. §1117 and California law. LegalZoom further seeks the transfer

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of the domains, www.legalzoomer.com and www.legalzoomgadget.com, to

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LegalZoom. LegalZoom further seeks a temporary, preliminary and permanent

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injunction against Rocket Lawyer from further registration of domain names that are

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identical or confusingly similar to LegalZoom’s trademarks, or any infringing or

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dilutive variations thereto, from further use of LegalZoom’s trademarks as search

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terms to trigger sponsored links to Rocket Lawyer’s false and misleading

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advertisements, from further use of false and misleading advertisements as alleged in

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LegalZoom’s First Amended Complaint, and from any further acts of false and

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misleading advertising and unfair competition that would damage or injure

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LegalZoom.

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V.

PRODUCTION OF ANY APPLICABLE INSURANCE AGREEMENT

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(RULE 26(a)(1)(A)(iv))

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LegalZoom is currently unaware of any indemnity or insurance coverage for

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the claims being alleged in this action.

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DATED: April 8, 2013

GLASER WEIL FINK JACOBS
HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP

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By: /s/ Fred D. Heather
PATRICIA L. GLASER
FRED D. HEATHER
MARY ANN T. NGUYEN
Attorneys for Plaintiff LegalZoom.com, Inc.

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LEGALZOOM.COM, INC.’S INITIAL DISCLOSURES PURSUANT FED. R. CIV. P. 26(A)(1)
793593

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CERTIFICATE OF SERIVCE
The undersigned hereby certifies that all counsel who have consented to

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electronic service are being served with a copy of the foregoing document via the

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Central District of California CM/ECF system on April 8, 2013.

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/s/ Fred D. Heather
Fred D. Heather

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE