150 Spear Street Associates L.P. v. VWR International, LLC et al

Filing 78

Discovery Order re 77 . Signed by Judge Maria-Elena James on 6/4/2018. (mejlc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/4/2018)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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150 SPEAR STREET ASSOCIATES L.P.,

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Case No. 17-cv-03246-JST (MEJ)

Plaintiff,
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DISCOVERY ORDER

v.

Re: Dkt. No. 77

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VWR INTERNATIONAL, LLC, et al.,

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Defendants.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Pending before the Court is the parties’ Joint Letter Brief regarding the discoverability of

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insurance-related communications. Ltr. Br., Dkt. No. 77.1 Plaintiff represents the only insurance-

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related communications at issue in the Joint Letter Brief and the Motion to Compel consist of

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“information exchanged between the bad faith insurer defendants and Defendants’ counsel suing

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those insurers regarding the 150 Spear case.” Id. at 2.

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First, based on the Declaration of Geoff Bridgman (Dkt. No. 75-2), the undersigned finds

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that these communications are not relevant to the claims and defenses asserted in this action: i.e.,

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contamination of the site, refusal to remediate, and knowledge of these conditions. Fed. R. Civ. P.

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26(b)(1). Second, the Court finds that some of these communications may be protected by the

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attorney-client privilege, by the mediation privilege, and/or as attorney work product. Third,

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Plaintiff has made no showing that producing the information, even if it was tangentially relevant

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and not privileged, would be proportional to the needs of the case. See Ltr. Br.; see also Mot. to

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Compel; Reply iso Mot. to Compel, Dkt. No. 76.
For the foregoing reasons, the undersigned finds information exchanged between the bad

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The subject is also raised in Plaintiff’s pending motion to compel (Dkt. No. 74), but needs to be
resolved before the scheduled hearing date on that motion (Ltr. Br. at 1).

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faith insurer defendants and Defendants’ counsel suing those insurers regarding the 150 Spear case

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is not discoverable.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: June 4, 2018
______________________________________
MARIA-ELENA JAMES
United States Magistrate Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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