Primo Broodstock, Inc. v. American Mariculture, Inc. et al

Filing 123

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 121 TB Food's Unopposed Motion to Extend Time for TB Food to Amend or Withdraw its Motion to Compel as to its First Set of Requests for Production Directed to All Defendants and for Sanctions. TB Food's request for an extension of time is granted; TB Food's request that the Court approve the parties' agreement under the Protective Order (Doc. 102) is denied as moot. TB Food shall have up to and including September 26, 2018 to amend or withdraw its motion to compel (Doc. 106). Signed by Magistrate Judge Carol Mirando on 9/20/2018. (APH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
PB LEGACY, INC. and TB FOODS
USA, LLC, a Texas Corporation,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No: 2:17-cv-9-FtM-29CM

AMERICAN MARICULTURE,
INC., AMERICAN PENAEID, INC.
and ROBIN PEARL,
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court upon review of Plaintiff TB Food USA,
LLC’s (“TB Food”) Unopposed Motion to Extend Time for TB Food to Amend or
Withdraw its Motion to Compel as to its First Set of Requests for Production Directed
to All Defendants and for Sanctions, filed on September 17, 2018. Doc. 121. TB
Food also requests that the Court, pursuant to the Protective Order (Doc. 102)
entered on April 16, 2018, approve the parties’ agreement regarding the designation
and treatment of certain documents produced in discovery. Id. at 6. Defendants
do not oppose the relief sought in the motion. Id. at 5. For the reasons stated
below, the motion is granted in part and denied in part.
On July 17, 2018, TB Food filed a motion to compel directed to Defendants’
allegedly inadequate response to TB Food’s request for production of certain
documents. Doc. 106. TB Food states that after filing the motion, counsel for the
parties continued to confer, and on July 30, 2018, Defendants produced additional

documents in response to the request for production (the “Second Production”). Doc.
121 at 3. The Court previously granted TB Food an extension until September 17,
2018 to amend or withdraw its motion to compel.

Doc. 117.

TB Food filed the

present motion requesting an extension until September 26, 2018 to amend or
withdraw the motion to compel. Doc. 121 at 6. TB Food represents that the parties
are continuing to attempt to resolve the disputes raised by the motion to compel and
have a telephone conference scheduled for September 21, 2018. Id. at 5. Thus, the
Court finds good cause to extend TB Food’s deadline for amending or withdrawing its
motion to compel and will grant the extension.
TB Food also requests that the Court adopt the parties’ agreement regarding
treatment of the Second Production documents under the Protective Order.

Id.

The Court entered the Protective Order in this case on April 16, 2018. Doc. 102.
TB Food represents that the parties agreed to the following regarding the Second
Production documents: (1) the Second Production documents will not be designated
Attorney’s Eyes Only (“AEO”) under the Protective Order; (2) Plaintiffs agreed to only
use the Second Production documents to prepare for and conduct the litigation; (3)
Plaintiffs agreed to give the Second Production documents protection from voluntary
disclosure to non-parties, except in examining witnesses and other discovery events;
and (4) the parties agreed that the Second Production documents were “not subject
to the other limitations of the [Protective Order]” including the requirement of filing
under seal, any limits on documents designated AEO, and limits on using confidential
information in examining witnesses. Doc. 121 at 3.

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First, the parties do not need the Court’s approval under the Protective Order
to designate documents “Confidential” or “Confidential—Attorney’s Eyes Only.”
Doc. 102 ¶ 9. The parties also do not need the Court’s approval, pursuant to the
Protective Order, to disclose information designated “Confidential” under paragraph
seventeen (filing under seal) or paragraph twenty-two (examining witnesses) if the
party disclosing such information obtains the opposing party’s agreement and
consent in writing. Id. ¶ 18(g). Here, TB Food represents the parties agreed on the
relevant disclosures of information designated as “Confidential.”

Doc. 121 at 3.

Thus, the Court will deny as moot TB Food’s request that the Court approve the
parties’ agreement.
ACCORDINGLY, it is
ORDERED:
TB Food’s Unopposed Motion to Extend Time for TB Food to Amend or
Withdraw its Motion to Compel as to its First Set of Requests for Production Directed
to All Defendants and for Sanctions (Doc. 121) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in
part. TB Food’s request for an extension of time is GRANTED. TB Food’s request
that the Court approve the parties’ agreement under the Protective Order (Doc. 102)
is DENIED as moot. TB Food shall have up to and including September 26, 2018 to
amend or withdraw its motion to compel (Doc. 106).

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DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on this 20th day of September,
2018.

Copies:
Counsel of record

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